Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Nordholz, Germany:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MER to FCN:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- FCN Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about FCN
- 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 FCN
- List of Nearest Airports to FCN
- Map of Furthest Airports from FCN
- List of Furthest Airports from FCN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN), Nordholz, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,451 miles (or 8,772 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 Nordholz Naval Airbase, 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 Nordholz Naval Airbase. 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: | FCN / ETMN |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Nordholz, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 53°46'4"N by 8°39'36"E |
Operator/Owner: | German Navy |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 74 feet (23 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FCN |
More Information: | FCN Maps & Info |
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.
- Castle Airport is a public use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Merced, a city in Merced County, California, United States.
- 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.
- 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.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN):
- Situated to the north of Bremen city, Marinefliegerhorst Nordholz is the home of the German Navy's Marinefliegergeschwader 3 "Graf Zeppelin".
- Flying returned to Nordholz in 1938, when the Luftwaffe decided to rebuild the airfield.
- Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN) currently has only 1 runway.
- Out of the 15 standard Atlantics, only eight survived.
- In addition to being known as "Nordholz Naval Airbase", another name for FCN is "(Advanced Landing Ground R-56)".
- A year later the subhunting component of MFG 2 moved from Westerland on Sylt to Nordholz.
- Because of Nordholz Naval Airbase's relatively low elevation of 74 feet, planes can take off or land at Nordholz Naval Airbase 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 closest airport to Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN) is Bremerhaven Airport (BRV), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) S of FCN.
- Its aircraft fly predominantly over the North Sea on antisubmarine patrols.
- The furthest airport from Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,711 miles (18,847 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.