Nonstop flight route between Tampa, Florida, United States and Atwater, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MCF to MER:
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- About this route
- MCF Airport Information
- MER Airport Information
- Facts about MCF
- Facts about MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to MCF
- List of Nearest Airports to MCF
- Map of Furthest Airports from MCF
- List of Furthest Airports from MCF
- 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 MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,293 miles (or 3,690 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 MacDill 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: | MCF / KMCF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Tampa, Florida, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 27°50'57"N by 82°31'15"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from MCF |
| More Information: | MCF 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 MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):
- The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
- In an administrative reorganization by HQ Army Air Force, on 1 May 1944, numbered training units in the Zone of the Interior were re-designated as "Army Air Force Base Units".
- The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
- Air defense of the Tampa Bay area was the mission of the 53d Pursuit Group, established at MacDIll on 15 January 1941.
- The 927 ARW is commanded by Colonel David P.
- MacDill AFB was established in 1939 as Southeast Air Base, Tampa.
- In addition to the antisubmarine mission, another prewar mission of MacDill was "Project X" the ferrying of combat aircraft eastward to the Philippines via ferrying routes set up by Ferrying Command over South Atlantic Ocean and Central Africa.
- In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
- MacDill has a total of 38 tenant units according to the official MacDill website."MacDill Air Force Base Units".
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.
- 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 furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
- Since the mid-1940s, aircraft maintenance, fuel management, and fire training activities on the base have generated wastes that consist primarily of waste fuels, oils, solvents, and cleaners.
