Nonstop flight route between Suffield, Alberta, Canada and Atwater, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from YSD to MER:
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- About this route
- YSD Airport Information
- MER Airport Information
- Facts about YSD
- Facts about MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to YSD
- List of Nearest Airports to YSD
- Map of Furthest Airports from YSD
- List of Furthest Airports from YSD
- Map of Nearest Airports to MER
- List of Nearest Airports to MER
- Map of Furthest Airports from MER
- List of Furthest Airports from MER
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between CFB Suffield (YSD), Suffield, Alberta, Canada and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,005 miles (or 1,617 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 CFB Suffield and Castle Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | YSD / CYSD |
| Airport Name: | CFB Suffield |
| Location: | Suffield, Alberta, Canada |
| GPS Coordinates: | 50°16'23"N by 111°10'29"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Canada |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 2525 feet (770 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from YSD |
| More Information: | YSD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | MER / KMER |
| Airport Name: | Castle Airport |
| Location: | Atwater, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°22'50"N by 120°34'5"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation, and Economic Development |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 191 feet (58 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MER |
| More Information: | MER Maps & Info |
Facts about CFB Suffield (YSD):
- The closest airport to CFB Suffield (YSD) is Medicine Hat Airport (YXH), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SE of YSD.
- In 1971 an agreement was signed between the British and Canadian governments permitting the British Army to use over three-quarters of the Suffield Block for armoured, infantry, and artillery live-fire training.
- Canadian Forces Base Suffield is the largest Canadian Forces Base and the largest Commonwealth military training base in the world.
- The decision to designate the Suffield Block a military training facility in 1941 left tens of square kilometres of undisturbed prairie grassland intact from the effects of industrial agriculture.
- The lands comprising modern-day CFB Suffield were known as the "Suffield Block", resulting from the Dominion Land Survey, and comprised marginal agricultural land, given the perpetual semi-arid climate.
- The furthest airport from CFB Suffield (YSD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,339 miles (16,640 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- Castle Air Museum is 500 yards away, displaying over 50 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft.
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- 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.
- 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 (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.
- 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.
