Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to RDU:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- RDU Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about RDU
- 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 RDU
- List of Nearest Airports to RDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDU
- List of Furthest Airports from RDU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,300 miles (or 3,701 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 Raleigh–Durham 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: | RDU / KRDU |
| Airport Name: | Raleigh–Durham International Airport |
| Location: | Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°52'40"N by 78°47'14"W |
| Area Served: | The Research Triangle Metropolitan Region of North Carolina |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 435 feet (133 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RDU |
| More Information: | RDU Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- Castle Air Museum is 500 yards away, displaying over 50 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft.
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- 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.
- 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.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
Facts about Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU):
- Because of Raleigh–Durham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 435 feet, planes can take off or land at Raleigh–Durham 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.
- In 2010 RDU's traffic began to recover.
- The furthest airport from Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Midway Airlines replaced AA as the airport's hub carrier from 1995 until 2003.
- Delta Air Lines has increased operations since 2010, with resumed nonstop service to Los Angeles in June 2010, followed by new nonstop service to Columbus, Fort Myers, Hartford, Miami, Orlando, St.
- The closest airport to Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Triangle North Executive Airport (Franklin County Airport) (LFN), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) ENE of RDU.
- The region's first airport opened in 1929 as Raleigh's Municipal Airport, just south of what is now downtown.
- American Airlines built a terminal at RDU between 1985 and 1987 to house a new hub operation, and offered service to 38 cities at the hub's outset in June 1987.
- Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) has 3 runways.
