Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to VQS:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- VQS Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about VQS
- 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 VQS
- List of Nearest Airports to VQS
- Map of Furthest Airports from VQS
- List of Furthest Airports from VQS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport (VQS), Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,564 miles (or 5,736 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 Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez 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 Castle Airport and Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport. 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: | VQS / TJVQ |
Airport Name: | Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport |
Location: | Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 18°8'4"N by 65°29'36"W |
Area Served: | Isla De Vieques, Puerto Rico |
Operator/Owner: | Puerto Rico Ports Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 49 feet (15 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VQS |
More Information: | VQS Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- 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.
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is TĂ´lanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in TĂ´lanaro, Madagascar.
- The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
- With its central location in the San Joaquin Valley, on the route of the proposed California High-Speed Rail system, and with a large, underdeveloped site, Castle Airport has been submitted as a possible location for the central maintenance facility for the system.
- 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.
Facts about Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport (VQS):
- Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport (VQS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport handled 165,043 passengers last year.
- Because of Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez 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 Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport (VQS) is Diego JimĂ©nez Torres Airport (FAJ), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of VQS.
- The furthest airport from Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport (VQS) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport (meaning Antonio Rivera RodrĂguez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,239 miles (19,697 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
- When anti-military demonstrators started flocking into Vieques, both by air and sea, in 1999, Vieques Airport saw a considerable increase to its normal yearly average of passengers.
- Early in 2005, plans were announced to expand the airport's lone runway, so that the airport can accept flights by smaller jets.