Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Francistown, Botswana:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to FRW:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- FRW Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about FRW
- Map of Nearest Airports to MER
- List of Nearest Airports to MER
- Map of Furthest Airports from MER
- List of Furthest Airports from MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to FRW
- List of Nearest Airports to FRW
- Map of Furthest Airports from FRW
- List of Furthest Airports from FRW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW), Francistown, Botswana would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,225 miles (or 16,455 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base, 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MER / KMER |
Airport Name: | Castle Airport |
Location: | Atwater, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°22'50"N by 120°34'5"W |
Operator/Owner: | Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation, and Economic Development |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 191 feet (58 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MER |
More Information: | MER Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FRW / FBFT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Francistown, Botswana |
GPS Coordinates: | 21°9'33"S by 27°28'27"E |
Operator/Owner: | Botswana Defence Force/Botswana CAA |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 3283 feet (1,001 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from FRW |
More Information: | FRW Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- 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 Air Museum is 500 yards away, displaying over 50 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
- The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
- 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.
Facts about Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW):
- However, currently the project is expected to miss its May deadline, after the airport in Gaborone also missed its deadline set date for May 10, 2010, with contractors at both sites struggling to finalise each stage of construction in time.
- The new terminal building opened in 2011 and the old terminal is now used by the Botswana Defence Force.
- The closest airport to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) NE of FRW.
- The furthest airport from Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (meaning Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,707 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) has 2 runways.
- In 2011 the airport's ownership of the old terminal was transferred to the Botswana Defence Force and became a military airport, with civilian traffic moved to the new Francistown International Airport terminal to the west of the airport lands.
- In addition to being known as "Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base", another name for FRW is "FBFT [1]".