Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Tours, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF), Tours, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,550 miles (or 8,933 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 Tours Val de Loire 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 Tours Val de Loire Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

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.
• 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.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of 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.

Facts about Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF):

• Because of Tours Val de Loire Airport's relatively low elevation of 357 feet, planes can take off or land at Tours Val de Loire 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.
• Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 357 feet above mean sea level.
• After World War II the airport was used by NATO and the US Air Force before becoming a flying school in the 1950s.
• The furthest airport from Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Tours Val de Loire Airport (meaning Tours Val de Loire Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,152 miles (19,557 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Tours Val de Loire Airport", another name for TUF is "Aéroport Tours Val de LoireBase Aérienne 604Tours Val de Loire".
• The airport is open to both national and international carriers, private planes and is certified for both instrument flight and visual flight.
• The closest airport to Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) is Angers – Loire Airport (ANE), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) W of TUF.