Nonstop flight route between Fort Sumner, New Mexico, United States and Atwater, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from FSU to MER:
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- About this route
- FSU Airport Information
- MER Airport Information
- Facts about FSU
- Facts about MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to FSU
- List of Nearest Airports to FSU
- Map of Furthest Airports from FSU
- List of Furthest Airports from FSU
- 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 Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU), Fort Sumner, New Mexico, United States and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 935 miles (or 1,505 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 Fort Sumner Municipal Airport and Castle Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FSU / KFSU |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fort Sumner, New Mexico, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°29'16"N by 104°13'0"W |
Area Served: | Fort Sumner, New Mexico |
Operator/Owner: | Village of Fort Sumner |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4165 feet (1,269 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from FSU |
More Information: | FSU 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 Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU):
- Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,167 miles (17,971 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Fort Sumner Municipal Airport is a village owned, public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Fort Sumner, a village in De Baca County, New Mexico, United States.
- The closest airport to Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU) is Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) E of FSU.
- In addition to being known as "Fort Sumner Municipal Airport", another name for FSU is "Fort Sumner Army Airfield".
- In the 1980s, the airport was chosen as a launch site for NASA's high altitude balloon program.
- Because of Fort Sumner Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,165 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at FSU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make FSU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The airport retains the large parking ramp from its training use.
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- In 2004, recommendations were made to relocate the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard and its associated HC-130, MC-130 and HH-60 aircraft from Moffett Federal Airfield to the former Castle Air Force Base, now Castle Airport.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.