Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MER to RAO:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- RAO Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about RAO
- 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 RAO
- List of Nearest Airports to RAO
- Map of Furthest Airports from RAO
- List of Furthest Airports from RAO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,217 miles (or 10,005 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 Dr. Leite Lopes State 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 Dr. Leite Lopes State 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: | RAO / SBRP |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 21°8'11"S by 47°46'36"W |
Area Served: | Ribeirão Preto |
Operator/Owner: | DAESP |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1804 feet (550 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RAO |
More Information: | RAO 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.
- 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 EPA currently has this base listed on their database due to the bulk wastes such as solvents, oils, fuels, and sludges which were disposed in pits at landfills around the base until 1977.
- 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.
- Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
- 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 Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO):
- The closest airport to Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO) is Ten. Lund Presetto State Airport (FRC), which is located 46 miles (73 kilometers) NE of RAO.
- The airport is located 18 km from downtown Ribeirão Preto.
- It is operated by DAESP.
- Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO) currently has only 1 runway.
- Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport handled 1,077,010 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (meaning Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,106 miles (19,482 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
- In 1996 the whole airport complex received its major renovation in which the runway and adjoining taxiway were extended from 1,800m to 2,100m and a new larger apron was built.
- In addition to being known as "Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport", another name for RAO is "Aeroporto Estadual Dr. Leite Lopes".