Nonstop flight route between Ogden, Utah, United States and Atwater, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from HIF to MER:
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- About this route
- HIF Airport Information
- MER Airport Information
- Facts about HIF
- Facts about MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to HIF
- List of Nearest Airports to HIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from HIF
- List of Furthest Airports from HIF
- 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 Hill Air Force Base (HIF), Ogden, Utah, United States and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 527 miles (or 849 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 Hill 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: | HIF / KHIF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Ogden, Utah, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 41°7'26"N by 111°58'22"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from HIF |
| More Information: | HIF 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 Hill Air Force Base (HIF):
- Following American entry into World War II in December 1941, Hill Field quickly became an important maintenance and supply base, with round-the-clock operations geared to supporting the war effort.
- In addition to being known as "Hill Air Force Base", another name for HIF is "Hill AFB".
- Hill Air Force Base is named in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill, the Chief of the Flying Branch of the U.S.
- The furthest airport from Hill Air Force Base (HIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,935 miles (17,598 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The closest airport to Hill Air Force Base (HIF) is Ogden-Hinckley Airport (OGD), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NNW of HIF.
- Then during the 1960s, Hill AFB began to perform the maintenance support for various kinds of jet warplanes, mainly the F-4 Phantom II during the Vietnam War, and then afterwards, the more modern F-16 Fighting Falcons, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, and C-130 Hercules, and also air combat missile systems and air-to-ground rockets.
- One of the survivors of the attack, Cortney Naisbitt, later trained in computers and worked at Hill Air Force Base.
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- 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.
- It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
