Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Hawker, South Australia, Australia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MER to HWK:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- HWK Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about HWK
- 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 HWK
- List of Nearest Airports to HWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from HWK
- List of Furthest Airports from HWK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Wilpena Pound (HWK), Hawker, South Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,045 miles (or 12,948 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 Wilpena Pound, 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 Wilpena Pound. 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: | HWK / YHAW |
Airport Name: | Wilpena Pound |
Location: | Hawker, South Australia, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 31°33'32"S by 138°34'26"E |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from HWK |
More Information: | HWK 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.
- 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 furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- Castle Air Museum is 500 yards away, displaying over 50 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft.
- 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.
Facts about Wilpena Pound (HWK):
- The closest airport to Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Leigh Creek Airport (LGH), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) N of HWK.
- The Pound is a very popular area for bushwalking, interesting to people of all levels of experience.
- Wilpena Pound is a natural amphitheatre of mountains located 429 kilometres north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia in the heart of the Flinders Ranges National Park.
- The name of the Pound, Wilpena, is reported to be Aboriginal, meaning "place of bent fingers".
- In an attempt to sort out their conflicting claims over the pastoral lease, Bonney and Surveyor-General Henry Freeling employed H.C.
- After the immense labour of constructing a road through the torturous Wilpena Gap, they built a small homestead inside the Pound, which still stands today, and cleared some open patches in the thick scrub of the interior.
- When Price died in 1889 the immediate 8,000-hectare area of the Pound was separated from the main run and leased separately.
- Because of Wilpena Pound's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilpena Pound 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 furthest airport from Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,642 miles (18,736 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.