Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Jingzhou, Hubei, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Shashi Airport (SHS), Jingzhou, Hubei, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,646 miles (or 10,695 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 Shashi 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 Shashi 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):

• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• Since the mid-1940s, aircraft maintenance, fuel management, and fire training activities on the base have generated wastes that consist primarily of waste fuels, oils, solvents, and cleaners.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Castle Airport is a public use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Merced, a city in Merced County, California, United States.
• 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.

Facts about Shashi Airport (SHS):

• The furthest airport from Shashi Airport (SHS) is Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport (IRJ), which is nearly antipodal to Shashi Airport (meaning Shashi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport), and is located 12,351 miles (19,878 kilometers) away in La Rioja, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Shashi Airport (SHS) is Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) WNW of SHS.
• In addition to being known as "Shashi Airport", other names for SHS include "沙市机场" and "Shāshì Jīchǎng".
• Because of Shashi Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Shashi 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.
• Shashi Airport (SHS) currently has only 1 runway.