Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Khovd, Mongolia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Khovd Airport (HVD), Khovd, Mongolia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,216 miles (or 10,004 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 Khovd 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 Khovd 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):

• 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.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• With its central location in the San Joaquin Valley, on the route of the proposed California High-Speed Rail system, and with a large, underdeveloped site, Castle Airport has been submitted as a possible location for the central maintenance facility for the system.
• 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.

Facts about Khovd Airport (HVD):

• The furthest airport from Khovd Airport (HVD) is Cochrane Airfield (LGR), which is located 11,701 miles (18,831 kilometers) away in Cochrane, Chile.
• Khovd Airport handled 31,926 passengers last year.
• Because of Khovd Airport's high elevation of 4,898 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HVD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HVD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Khovd Airport (HVD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Khovd Airport (HVD) is Ölgii Airport (ULG), which is located 106 miles (170 kilometers) NW of HVD.
• In addition to being known as "Khovd Airport", another name for HVD is "Ховд нисэх буудал".