Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to BZZ:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- BZZ Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about BZZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to MER
- List of Nearest Airports to MER
- Map of Furthest Airports from MER
- List of Furthest Airports from MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to BZZ
- List of Nearest Airports to BZZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from BZZ
- List of Furthest Airports from BZZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,266 miles (or 8,474 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 Castle Airport and RAF Brize Norton, 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 Castle Airport and RAF Brize Norton. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BZZ / EGVN |
Airport Name: | RAF Brize Norton |
Location: | Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°45'0"N by 1°35'0"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from BZZ |
More Information: | BZZ Maps & Info |
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 (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.
- 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.
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
Facts about RAF Brize Norton (BZZ):
- The station is home to Air Transport, Air-to-Air refuelling and Military Parachuting, with aircraft operating from the station including the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Airbus A330 MRTT Voyager which replaced the now decommissioned Lockheed TriStar in March 2014.
- The Hercules fleet at RAF Lyneham officially moved to Brize Norton on 1 July 2011.
- The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- Following the Falklands War, the RAF found itself lacking in the strategic transport capabilities required to sustain the expanded military presence there.
- The station is home to the Administrative Wing, Airport of Embarkation Wing, Depth Support Wing, Forward Support Wing and Operations Wing.
- The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
- Like many UK military bases RAF Brize Norton has been subject to limited protests by peace demonstrators.