Nonstop flight route between Mojave, California, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV), Mojave, California, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,964 miles (or 7,989 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 Mojave Air and Space Port and Santa Maria 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 Mojave Air and Space Port and Santa Maria 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 Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV):

• The closest airport to Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV) is Tehachapi Municipal Airport (TSP), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) WNW of MHV.
• Beginning with the Rotary Rocket program, Mojave became a focus for small companies seeking a place to develop space access technologies.
• Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,411 miles (18,364 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The Mojave Air and Space Port, also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of 2,791 feet.
• The Mojave Airport was first opened in 1935 as a small, rural airfield serving the local gold and silver mining industry.

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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 airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.
• It was built in the context of the Second World War, by US troops in order to maintain supply lines to Europe, and inaugurated on 26 July 1945.
• A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• The forerunner of SATA Air Açores initiated services concurrently to São Miguel and Terceira from Santa Maria Airport on 5 August 1947, using a plane christened "Açor".
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.