Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to LKZ:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- LKZ Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about LKZ
- 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 LKZ
- List of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from LKZ
- List of Furthest Airports from LKZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,298 miles (or 8,526 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 RAF Lakenheath, 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 RAF Lakenheath. 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: | LKZ / EGUL |
Airport Name: | RAF Lakenheath |
Location: | Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°24'29"N by 0°33'24"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from LKZ |
More Information: | LKZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- 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.
- Castle Air Museum is 500 yards away, displaying over 50 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft.
- EPA investigations have been completed at multiple areas of contamination including landfills, discharge areas, chemical disposal areas, fire training areas, fuel spill areas, and polychlorinated biphenyl spill areas.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):
- Lakenheath Airfield was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941.
- Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2s were airlifted to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A.
- In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
- The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
- The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- In 1941, hard runways were put down with the main runway, 04/22, being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries, 12/30 at 1,300 yards and 16/34 at 1,400 yards.
- On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.