Hello, everyone.

I trust this finds each of you and yours as well as you can be during these difficult times. Of course, we are a resilient and innovative group, and we will work our way through this. And, when we do, one of the things we can look forward to is another NATA formation clinic!

This one will actually bring many of us of back to a place of fond memories where we attended CAF TRARON clinics back in the early-mid 2000’s. Iconic Castle AFB (KMER), once home to USAF SAC B-52’s, will be our clinic base once again!

Castle is in the middle of California’s Central Valley near Merced. It is a picturesque and easy flight to Castle from either the LA Basin or Bay areas. Castle is an ideal place for a formation clinic: the airport is relatively quiet, it has a huge runway and ramp, the airspace in the area is not congested, the surrounding terrain is flat farmland, and if some wish to spend a couple extra days, it is a gateway to Yosemite National Park and the High Sierra. There also is an aviation museum on what was the base with a nice collection of aircraft.

The weather is typically excellent at this time of the year: no “Tule” fog, warm days, mild evenings, no rain, clear skies, light breezes.

Accommodations will be about 15 minutes away in Merced. We have a block of rooms reserved and will provide reservation information as we get a little closer. Rental cars will be available for pickup on the field.

Coronavirus dependent, the dates are September 24 – 27, with registration and ground school late afternoon/early evening on Thursday, September 24, and the clinic brief at 0800 Friday morning, immediately after which we will get in the air!
We will open up the web site for registration in a couple months as it become clearer whether Corona will allow us to conduct it, but we wanted to give you a heads up so you can get it on your calendars.

Blue skies and fair winds,

Ken Karas
Castle Lead