Nonstop flight route between Columbus, Mississippi, United States and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,816 miles (or 2,923 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 relatively short distance between Columbus Air Force Base and Castle Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• The host unit at Columbus is the 14th Flying Training Wing assigned to the Air Education and Training Command.
• Communist troops from North Korea violated South Korea's borders and fighting broke out in 1950.
• But while the Air Force’s pilot training requirements were decreasing, its strategic air arm was expanding.During the 1950s, Strategic Air Command wings had become extremely large.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.
• The base began as a training facility for fighters and bombers.
• In preparation for this transfer, Air Training Command had activated the 3650th Pilot Training Wing at Columbus on 15 February.

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.
• The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
• Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of 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.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.