Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MER to CIU:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- CIU Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about CIU
- 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 CIU
- List of Nearest Airports to CIU
- Map of Furthest Airports from CIU
- List of Furthest Airports from CIU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,938 miles (or 3,119 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 Castle Airport and Chippewa County International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | CIU / KCIU |
Airport Name: | Chippewa County International Airport |
Location: | Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°15'2"N by 84°28'20"W |
Area Served: | Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan |
Operator/Owner: | Chippewa County EDC |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 799 feet (244 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from CIU |
More Information: | CIU Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
- It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
Facts about Chippewa County International Airport (CIU):
- The closest airport to Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) is Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of CIU.
- The furthest airport from Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) has 2 runways.
- Because of Chippewa County International Airport's relatively low elevation of 799 feet, planes can take off or land at Chippewa County International 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.
- As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 13,269 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 13,173 in 2009, and 14,349 in 2010.