Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Valdosta, Georgia, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to VAD:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- VAD Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about VAD
- 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 VAD
- List of Nearest Airports to VAD
- Map of Furthest Airports from VAD
- List of Furthest Airports from VAD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,167 miles (or 3,488 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 Castle Airport and Moody Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | VAD / KVAD |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Valdosta, Georgia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 30°58'4"N by 83°11'34"W |
View all routes: | Routes from VAD |
More Information: | VAD Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
- 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.
- It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Moody Air Force Base (VAD):
- Originally named Valdosta Airfield when it opened on 15 September 1941, the airfield was renamed Moody Army Airfield on 6 December 1941 in honor of Major George Putnam Moody, an early Air Force pioneer.
- On 1 December 1975, the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, a unit of the Tactical Air Command, relocated to Moody from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand.
- Shortly after the Korean War began on 25 June 1950, Air Training Command took over most combat crew training, thereby relieving operational commands of much of their training burden and allowing them to concentrate on their combat mission.
- The base had its beginning in 1940 when a group of concerned Valdosta and Lowndes County citizens began searching for a way to assist the expanding defense program.
- The closest airport to Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Valdosta Regional AirportValdosta Army Auxiliary Airfield (VLD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) SSW of VAD.
- In addition to being known as "Moody Air Force Base", another name for VAD is "Moody AFB".
- The furthest airport from Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Kalbarri Airport (KAX), which is located 11,363 miles (18,286 kilometers) away in Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia.
- With the arrival of the TF-102 Delta Dagger in Air Defense Command in 1960, Moody ended interceptor pilot and crew training and became one of ATC's new undergraduate pilot training schools.