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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yucca Airstrip (UCC), Mercury, Nevada, United States and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 251 miles (or 404 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 Yucca Airstrip 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 Yucca Airstrip (UCC):

• The furthest airport from Yucca Airstrip (UCC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,249 miles (18,103 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The asphalt runway was constructed in 2002 as part of an unmanned aerial vehicle test facility.
• Yucca Airstrip (UCC) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Yucca Airstrip", another name for UCC is "NV11".
• The closest airport to Yucca Airstrip (UCC) is Desert Rock Airport (DRA), which is located 23 miles (36 kilometers) S of UCC.
• The airport was the staging area for SHOT BADGER, a test of the UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE Series of nuclear test shots on April 18, 1953.

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• Since the mid-1940s, aircraft maintenance, fuel management, and fire training activities on the base have generated wastes that consist primarily of waste fuels, oils, solvents, and cleaners.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.