Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Albury, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Albury Airport (ABX), Albury, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,784 miles (or 12,526 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Castle Airport and Albury Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Castle Airport and Albury Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• The EPA currently has this base listed on their database due to the bulk wastes such as solvents, oils, fuels, and sludges which were disposed in pits at landfills around the base until 1977.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• It was estimated that the cost to relocate the 129 RQW to Castle, to include associated military construction costs, could be recouped in seven years.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• Because of Castle Airport's relatively low elevation of 191 feet, planes can take off or land at Castle Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In 2004, recommendations were made to relocate the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard and its associated HC-130, MC-130 and HH-60 aircraft from Moffett Federal Airfield to the former Castle Air Force Base, now Castle Airport.

Facts about Albury Airport (ABX):

• Because of Albury Airport's relatively low elevation of 539 feet, planes can take off or land at Albury Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The passenger terminal has recently been extended to incorporate new security screening requirements and to cater for the increased number of flights.
• Virgin Australia now use ATR72 Turboprop aircraft and Brindabella Airlines no longer provide a regular service between Albury and Canberra.
• Albury Airport handled 284,535 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Albury Airport (ABX) is Corowa Airport (CWW), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) W of ABX.
• The furthest airport from Albury Airport (ABX) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Albury Airport (meaning Albury Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,180 miles (19,602 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Albury Airport (ABX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Virgin Australia launched services to Albury on 5 February 2008 with double-daily Embraer 170 services-one of its first new ports served by the aircraft.