Nonstop flight route between Fallon, Nevada, United States and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL), Fallon, Nevada, United States and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 174 miles (or 279 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 Naval Air Station Fallon and Castle Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL):

• Associated bombing ranges checker the surrounding Lahontan Valley and Dixie Valley, which is the next valley to the east.
• The Navy relocated its Navy Fighter Weapons School, or TOPGUN, from NAS Miramar to NAS Fallon in 1996, following the transfer of NAS Miramar to the Marine Corps and its redesignation as MCAS Miramar.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Fallon", another name for NFL is "Van Voorhis Field".
• The airfield is named Van Voorhis Field in honor of Lieutenant Bruce Van Voorhis who was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,140 miles (17,928 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL) is Fallon Municipal Airport (FLX), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNW of NFL.
• The airfield at NAS Fallon was originally built in 1942 as part of a defensive network to repel a feared Japanese invasion of the west coast.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.