Castle Airport
MER · KMER · Atwater, California · Merced County · map
Castle Airport is a public-use airport owned by Merced County, 3 miles northeast of Atwater, California, 190 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 13/31, is 11,802 feet of asphalt and concrete. It has a control tower, fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A, Jet A-1) and about 50 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 32,051 takeoffs and landings a year.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Castle Airport?
Its FAA code is MER, and its ICAO code is KMER.
Where is Castle Airport?
It is 3 miles northeast of Atwater, California, 190 feet above sea level.
How long is the runway at Castle Airport?
Its one runway, 13/31, is 11,802 feet long, asphalt and concrete.
Does Castle Airport have a control tower?
Yes, it has a control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Castle Airport?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A, Jet A-1.
Are there flight schools at Castle Airport?
One flight school, flying club or college flight programme is based within about 15 miles of it: Cencal Flyers LLC. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Castle Airport?
4 pilot examiners and 8 aviation medical examiners work within 50 nautical miles. See them by name
Weather and planning now, the forecast, warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions
Fetching the weather now, the forecast, the warnings in force, pilot reports and the winds aloft for Castle Airport…
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
The airport facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA MER · ICAO KMER
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- Merced County
- Elevation
- 190 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- A control tower · 7:00 am to 9:00 pm
- Attended
- Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A, Jet A-1; the services card below
- On the chart
- San Francisco sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 15E
- In the FAA's files since
- July 1942
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/31 | 11,802 × 150 ft | Asphalt and concrete, good | High-intensity lights |
- Runway 13: PAPI, four lights on the left, approach lights with sequenced flashers (ALSF-1)
- Runway 31: localizer and glideslope, PAPI, four lights on the left, approach lights with sequenced flashers (ALSF-1), right-hand traffic pattern
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · Tower | 118.175 | Castle |
| UNICOM | 122.95 | |
| ATIS (recorded airport information) | 124.475 | Castle |
| Ground | 133.575 | Castle |
| Approach and departure | 120.95 | Castle |
Automated weather (AWOS-3), by phone 209-725-0104.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A, Jet A-1
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: minor repairs
- Parking
- hangars, tie-downs
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Merced Yosemite Regional (6 nm southeast), Los Banos Municipal (24 nm southwest), Modesto City-County-Harry Sham Field (24 nm northwest).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in California · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- No objections
- When the control tower closed activate ALSF1 runways 13 and 31; high-intensity runway lights runway 13/31 - the common traffic frequency; 3 clicks on, 5 clicks incr intst, 7 clicks off. PAPI runways 13 and 31 operates continuously.
- Mailing address
- Community and economic development
- 1,000 feet paved blast pad both ends of runway.
- ALSF1 runway 13/31 sequenced flashing lights out of service indefinitely.
- Runway 13/31 180 degree turns prohibitied.
- Runway 31 will be the designated calm wind runway (wind 5 knots or less).
- Opposite end of runway not visible on takeoff. When the control tower closed opposite direction takeoffs and landings are not authorized.
- Civilian and military training may occasionally cause pattern congestion.
- When the control tower closed maximum of 5 aircraft pmtd in VFR traffic pattern at any one time and 2000 feet cig and 3 mis visibility recommended.
- Taxiway B closed to aircraft gtr than 30000 pounds.
Flights and activity in the air now, the airlines, based aircraft, takeoffs and landings
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
- Looking…
Arrivals and departures, last hour
- Looking…
From the volunteer receiver network, a few minutes behind at most; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out; no person is named. Open the live map here.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 31 |
| multi-engine | 16 |
| jets | 1 |
| helicopters | 2 |
The FAA's count is the general-aviation aircraft kept on the field (singles, twins, business jets, helicopters) from its Terminal Area Forecast, the latest year with an actual count; airline fleets are never counted as based anywhere, so a big airline airport shows a small number. The register section below shows how many aircraft are registered to owners in town, a different measure again.
Takeoffs and landings a year about 32,051, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| airline | 53 |
| air taxi and commuter | 127 |
| general aviation, travelling | 16,185 |
| general aviation, local | 13,084 |
| military | 2,602 |
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates. How this compares nationally: Airports by the numbers.
Who flies and works here aircraft registered in town, the companies, the examiners nearby
Aircraft registered in Atwater from the FAA register
63 aircraft are registered to owners in Atwater, California: 39 piston singles, 12 piston twins, 5 drones, 4 turboprops, 2 helicopters. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Companies and organisations in town with two or more aircraft:
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in California.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Fuel and service companies in Atwater, by their names on the register (a start, not a directory):
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles:
- Cencal Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · Turlock, 10 miles away
Repair stations in Atwater:
- Aero X AeroX is a repair station providing maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for commercial, corporate, and military aircraft.
- Ks Aviation INC Bay Avionics is a Part 145 repair station located in Suffolk, Virginia that installs and repairs avionics systems in aircraft.
Companies in the same town as this airport, and schools within about 15 miles of it (each placed at the main public airport of its town, or at the town's centre); not every one of them works from this field. All operators · all repair stations · all flight schools · all FBOs.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
4 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 4 for private pilot, 4 for commercial and instrument, 2 for airline transport pilot, 2 for flight instructor; 4 for airplanes, 3 for multi-engine airplanes. Also nearby: 8 aviation medical examiners, 2 training center examiners, 1 administrative pilot examiner.
- Scott Richard Siemiller private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Winton, CA (2 nm) · (209) 201-2866 · [email protected]
- Kenneth Sebastian Cobb private pilot, commercial and instrument, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Inclusive Aviation in the main Terminal · Columbia, CA (40 nm) · (209) 480-6207 · [email protected]
- Robert Alan Davids private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Calaveras County Airport · San Andreas, CA (46 nm) · (209) 612-7432 · [email protected]
- Margaret Watt private pilot, commercial and instrument, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes · Hollister, CA (50 nm) · (209) 321-8108 · [email protected]
All 15 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DCTO-E: Designee at a certificated training organisation.
- Admin-PE: Administrative Pilot Examiner: handles certificate paperwork rather than flight tests.
Designees are listed with the name and contact details the FAA publishes for them on its designee locator (read October 10, 2026): the FAA lists them so that pilots, mechanics and companies can find them. Private individuals are not named, the site's policy at this time. A designee who would rather not appear here can ask us through the contact address on the About page. Each designee is placed at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists (or the nearest one to its zip code), so "nearby" means the town, not an exact address. All examiners by state.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 12 since 1982, 1 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Atwater 63 aircraft · 39 piston singles, 12 piston twins, 5 drones
- Xin Han Aviation LLC 24 aircraft in town
- Xing Kong Aviation Service LLC 5 aircraft in town
- L & J Aviation INC 4 aircraft in town
- L&J Aviation INC 3 aircraft in town
- Xing Kong Aviation Service LLC 5 aircraft · FBO or fuel seller
- Cencal Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · flight school
- Aero X · repair station
- Ks Aviation INC · repair station
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 12 since 1982 · 1 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,069 since 1982 · 1,087 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in California 244 landing places
- California 27,658 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/MER.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 1, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 27, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.