Nonstop flight route between Windsor Locks (near Hartford), Connecticut, United States and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bradley International Airport (BDL), Windsor Locks (near Hartford), Connecticut, United States and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,533 miles (or 4,077 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 Bradley International Airport and Castle 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 Bradley International Airport and Castle 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 Bradley International Airport (BDL):

• The airfield began civilian use in 1947 as Bradley International Airport.
• On October 2–3, 2007, the Airbus A380 visited Bradley as part of its world tour, stopping in Hartford to showcase the aircraft to Connecticut workers for Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Sundstrand, both divisions of United Technologies, which helped build the GP7000 TurboFan engines, which is an option to power the aircraft.
• The furthest airport from Bradley International Airport (BDL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,740 miles (18,894 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1979, a tornado ripped through Windsor Locks, wreaking destruction along the eastern portions of the airport.
• Because of Bradley International Airport's relatively low elevation of 173 feet, planes can take off or land at Bradley International 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.
• Bradley International Airport (BDL) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Bradley International Airport (BDL) is Rentschler Heliport (EHT), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of BDL.
• The airport is about halfway between Hartford and Springfield.

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• 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.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• 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.
• 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.
• The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
• 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.