Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Apiay, Colombia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base) (API), Apiay, Colombia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,751 miles (or 6,037 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 large distance between Castle Airport and Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base), the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Castle Airport and Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base). You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base) (API):

• Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base) (API) currently has only 1 runway.
• The base also hosts members of the United States Military under a cooperation program under Plan Colombia intended to help the Colombian military with the eradication of illegal drug trade and the illegally armed groups in the Colombian armed conflict.
• In addition to being known as "Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base)", another name for API is "Base Aérea Capitán Luis F. Gómez Niño (Base Aérea de Apiay)".
• The furthest airport from Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base) (API) is Gunung Batin Airport (AKQ), which is nearly antipodal to Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base) (meaning Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gunung Batin Airport), and is located 12,346 miles (19,869 kilometers) away in Astraksetra, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base (Apiay Air Base) (API) is El Dorado International Airport (BOG), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) NW of API.
• Apiay has served as base for operations such as Plan Patriota which included operations such as Operation JM.