Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Basankusu, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to BSU:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- BSU Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about BSU
- Map of Nearest Airports to MER
- List of Nearest Airports to MER
- Map of Furthest Airports from MER
- List of Furthest Airports from MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to BSU
- List of Nearest Airports to BSU
- Map of Furthest Airports from BSU
- List of Furthest Airports from BSU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Basankusu Airport (BSU), Basankusu, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,760 miles (or 14,097 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 Basankusu Airport, 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 Basankusu Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BSU / FZEN |
Airport Name: | Basankusu Airport |
Location: | Basankusu, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
GPS Coordinates: | 1°13'28"N by 19°47'20"E |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1217 feet (371 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from BSU |
More Information: | BSU Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
- It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Basankusu Airport (BSU):
- The furthest airport from Basankusu Airport (BSU) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Basankusu Airport (meaning Basankusu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,140 miles (19,537 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
- The closest airport to Basankusu Airport (BSU) is Impfondo Airport (ION), which is located 123 miles (198 kilometers) WNW of BSU.