Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Westhampton Beach, New York, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to FOK:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- FOK Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about FOK
- 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 FOK
- List of Nearest Airports to FOK
- Map of Furthest Airports from FOK
- List of Furthest Airports from FOK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK), Westhampton Beach, New York, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,549 miles (or 4,102 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 Francis S. Gabreski 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 Francis S. Gabreski 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: | FOK / KFOK |
| Airport Name: | Francis S. Gabreski Airport |
| Location: | Westhampton Beach, New York, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°50'36"N by 72°37'54"W |
| Area Served: | Westhampton Beach, New York |
| Operator/Owner: | County of Suffolk |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military (ANG) |
| Elevation: | 67 feet (20 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from FOK |
| More Information: | FOK Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- 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 covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
- 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.
- 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 (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
Facts about Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK):
- The airport is both a general aviation facility utilized by corporate businesses, private aviation and air taxi services, and an Air National Guard base for the 106th Rescue Wing, an Air Combat Command -gained unit of the New York Air National Guard.
- The furthest airport from Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,798 miles (18,988 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Air Force One was also often located at the Air National Guard base in the summers of 1998 and 1999 during weeklong visits by President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton during extended stays at the Georgica Pond home of film director Steven Spielberg in East Hampton, New York.
- Because of Francis S. Gabreski Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Francis S. Gabreski 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.
- Suffolk County Airport operated as a civilian general aviation airport without a military unit from 1969 until 1970.
- The closest airport to Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Calverton Executive Airpark (CTO), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of FOK.
- In 1975, the designation and mission changed again to "Aerospace Rescue and Recovery", later shortened to "Air Rescue" and then simply "Rescue".
- Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) has 3 runways.
- Suffolk County AFB was also the main support base for the Suffolk County Missile Annex, a nearby USAF CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile launch complex for the defense of the New York City metropolitan area under the control of a missile launch control center at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.
