Nonstop flight route between Del Rio, Texas, United States and Atwater, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DLF to MER:
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- About this route
- DLF Airport Information
- MER Airport Information
- Facts about DLF
- Facts about MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to DLF
- List of Nearest Airports to DLF
- Map of Furthest Airports from DLF
- List of Furthest Airports from DLF
- Map of Nearest Airports to MER
- List of Nearest Airports to MER
- Map of Furthest Airports from MER
- List of Furthest Airports from MER
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,266 miles (or 2,037 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 Laughlin Air Force Base and Castle Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DLF / KDLF |
Airport Name: | Laughlin Air Force Base |
Location: | Del Rio, Texas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°21'33"N by 100°46'41"W |
View all routes: | Routes from DLF |
More Information: | DLF Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF):
- Laughlin U-2s were among the first to provide photographic evidence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba in 1962 when 4080th U-2 pilot Major Steve Heyser flew his U-2C over Cuba after taking off from Edwards AFB, California.
- The closest airport to Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Del Rio International Airport (DRT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of DLF.
- Park University offers onsite and online classes on base.
- There were 651 households out of which 56.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.8% were married couples living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.3% were non-families.
- In 1961, Headquarters US Air Force notified Laughlin officials their mission would expand to again include an Air Training Command undergraduate pilot training program.
- The furthest airport from Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,091 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.