Nonstop flight route between Jacksonville, Arkansas, United States and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF), Jacksonville, Arkansas, United States and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,589 miles (or 2,557 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 Little Rock 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 Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF):

• The furthest airport from Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,887 miles (17,521 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 1 January 1976, the 189 TRG transferred being a TAC-gained unit to a SAC-gained unit when it converted to the KC-135 Stratotanker and was redesignated the 189th Air Refueling Group, becoming one of the first Air National Guard units to be assigned to Strategic Air Command with a concomitant requirement to maintain a 24-hour alert force at Little Rock as well as deployments to support worldwide tanker task forces.
• Construction of Little Rock Air Force Base began on 6 November 1953 and the base was officially activated by Strategic Air Command on 1 August 1955, hosting SAC's 384th Bombardment Wing flying the Boeing B-47E Stratojet and the 70th Reconnaissance Wing flying the RB-47 Stratojet and KC-97 Stratotanker.
• In 2012, First Lady Michelle Obama visited the Little Rock base to mark the second anniversary of the Let's Move initiative.
• In addition to being known as "Little Rock Air Force Base", another name for LRF is "Little Rock AFB".
• The closest airport to Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF) is Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport (LIT), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) SSW of LRF.
• On 1 October 1986, the 189 ARG saw yet another mission change when it was redesignated as the 189th Tactical Airlift Group and converted to the C-130 aircraft, with transfer of operational claimancy to MAC.

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• 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.
• 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 (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
• 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.
• 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.