Our Flight Enviornment

Sierra Academy, located at KMER, has over 50 surrounding airports within 100 nautical miles, providing a more diverse and complex training environment, essential to pilots training to work for an airline. Because Castle Airport was a U.S. Air Force Base, it is strategically located where pilot training is available and accessible all year round.  We are in between two mountain ranges, shielding us from heavy storms and winds, making it possible for Sierra students to fly year round, except a few days in November-January, during the storms and fog. Sierra Academy has an average of 350 flying days per year.

Castle Airport (or KMER) Runway 13/31 has its own FAA certified ATC Control Tower, providing students with constant radio communications experience and the added safety with guided take offs, approach and landing operations, by a certified Air Traffic Controller. Castle Airport has a runway that is over two miles long, making it the 4th longest runway in California- making this the ideal runway for you to learn safe landings and takeoffs. The runway is also fully equipped for instrument approaches for ILS or LOC/DME 13, RNAV (GPS) 13/31.