Nonstop flight route between Waterford, Ireland and Riverside, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Waterford Airport (WAT), Waterford, Ireland and March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,157 miles (or 8,300 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 Waterford Airport and March Air Reserve Base, 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 Waterford Airport and March Air Reserve Base. 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 Waterford Airport (WAT):

• Waterford Airport handled 8,000 passengers last year.
• Passengers numbers through Waterford Airport in 2009 fall due to routes being suspended to Bordeaux, Faro, Malaga and Amsterdam and service reductions on routes to Birmingham, London Luton and Manchester.
• Because of Waterford Airport's relatively low elevation of 119 feet, planes can take off or land at Waterford 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 closest airport to Waterford Airport (WAT) is Kilkenny Airport (KKY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of WAT.
• The furthest airport from Waterford Airport (WAT) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Waterford Airport (meaning Waterford Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,013 miles (19,333 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In 2006 Waterford Airport celebrated 21 years of scheduled operations.
• In addition to being known as "Waterford Airport", another name for WAT is "Aerfort Phort Láirge".
• The airport is on the R708 road which can be accessed from the R710 outer ring road in Waterford.

Facts about March Air Reserve Base (RIV):

• The March Field Airfest, also known as Thunder Over the Empire, is a biennial air show held at March.
• At the same time, the War Department announced its intentions to build several new military installations.
• With the sudden end of World War I in November 1918, the future operational status of March Field was unknown.
• In December 1948, Twelfth Air Force and March AFB were assigned from Tactical Air Command to Continental Air Command, established on 1 December 1948.
• The first flying squadron was the 215th Aero Squadron, which was transferred from Rockwell Field, North Island, California.
• The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.
• The host unit at March is the Air Force Reserve's 452d Air Mobility Wing, which in addition to its operational flying mission, also provides host base support for numerous tenant units.
• The furthest airport from March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,461 miles (18,445 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• As March Field began to take on the appearance of a permanent military installation, the base's basic mission changed.
• In the decade before World War II, March Field took on much of its current appearance and also began to gain prominence.