Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Bratsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Bratsk Airport (BTK), Bratsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,503 miles (or 8,856 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 Bratsk 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 Bratsk Airport. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Bratsk Airport (BTK):

• The furthest airport from Bratsk Airport (BTK) is Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport (PUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Bratsk Airport (meaning Bratsk Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport), and is located 12,060 miles (19,408 kilometers) away in Punta Arenas, Chile.
• The 350 IAP arrived in 1984 with a number of Tupolev Tu-128 aircraft.
• The closest airport to Bratsk Airport (BTK) is Ust-Ilimsk (UIK), which is located 126 miles (203 kilometers) NNE of BTK.
• Currently Bratsk continues to serve a vital civil aviation role as a staging base for cargo flights to Kamchatka.
• Bratsk Airport (BTK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bratsk Airport is an airport in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia located 8 kilometres north of Bratsk.
• In addition to being known as "Bratsk Airport", another name for BTK is "Аэропорт Братск".