Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Wenshan, Yunnan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Wenshan Puzhehei Airport (WNH), Wenshan, Yunnan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,314 miles (or 11,771 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 Wenshan Puzhehei 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 Wenshan Puzhehei 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):

• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• Castle Air Museum is 500 yards away, displaying over 50 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Castle Airport is a public use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Merced, a city in Merced County, California, United States.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Wenshan Puzhehei Airport (WNH):

• The furthest airport from Wenshan Puzhehei Airport (WNH) is Andrés Sabella Gálvez International Airport (former Cerro Moreno International Airport) (ANF), which is nearly antipodal to Wenshan Puzhehei Airport (meaning Wenshan Puzhehei Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Andrés Sabella Gálvez International Airport (former Cerro Moreno International Airport)), and is located 12,106 miles (19,482 kilometers) away in Antofagasta, Chile.
• The closest airport to Wenshan Puzhehei Airport (WNH) is Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG), which is located 138 miles (222 kilometers) NW of WNH.
• In addition to being known as "Wenshan Puzhehei Airport", other names for WNH include "文山普者黑机场" and "Wénshān Pǔzhěhēi Jīchǎng".