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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome (XMF), Montbéliard, France and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,736 miles (or 9,230 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 Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome and Castle 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 Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome and Castle 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 Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome (XMF):

• The closest airport to Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome (XMF) is EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) ENE of XMF.
• In addition to being known as "Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome", another name for XMF is "Aérodrome de Montbéliard - Courcelles".
• Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome (XMF) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome (XMF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome (meaning Montbéliard - Courcelles Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,138 miles (19,535 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• EPA investigations have been completed at multiple areas of contamination including landfills, discharge areas, chemical disposal areas, fire training areas, fuel spill areas, and polychlorinated biphenyl spill areas.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• Castle Air Museum is 500 yards away, displaying over 50 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft.