Nonstop flight route between Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH), Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,335 miles (or 8,586 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 London Biggin Hill 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 London Biggin Hill 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 London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH):

• The airport is the scene of the landing of Sir Leigh Teabing's private jet in the bestselling book, The Da Vinci Code by author Dan Brown.
• Because of London Biggin Hill Airport's relatively low elevation of 599 feet, planes can take off or land at London Biggin Hill 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 London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,892 miles (19,139 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• London Biggin Hill Airport is an operational general aviation airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located 12 NM south-southeast of Central London.
• In addition to being known as "London Biggin Hill Airport", another name for BQH is "Biggin Hill Airport".
• Today the airport has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee.
• London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of BQH.
• The current RAF Biggin Hill is a small enclave on the western boundary of the airport to the south of the passenger terminal, and contains the headquarters of 2427 Squadron of the Air Training Corps.
• In 2001, the London Borough of Bromley as freeholder of the airport succeeded in an action in the Court of Appeal.
• Biggin Hill is the location of one of the four "stacks" for aircraft landing at Heathrow Airport, and is used by aircraft approaching from the south east.
• Despite the effective ban on scheduled services, Biggin Hill is used by a large number of business flights by business jets and similar sized aircraft.
• The airport is located on a hill top, just to the east of the Bromley to Westerham road and about 1 mile to the north of the town of Biggin Hill.

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
• 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.
• 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.