Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NKX to SMA:
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- About this route
- NKX Airport Information
- SMA Airport Information
- Facts about NKX
- Facts about SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to NKX
- List of Nearest Airports to NKX
- Map of Furthest Airports from NKX
- List of Furthest Airports from NKX
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMA
- List of Nearest Airports to SMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMA
- List of Furthest Airports from SMA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS Miramar, (NKX), San Diego, California, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,998 miles (or 8,044 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 MCAS Miramar, 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 MCAS Miramar, and Santa Maria Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NKX / KNKX |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°52'4"N by 117°8'30"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Marine Corps |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 478 feet (146 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NKX |
More Information: | NKX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMA / LPAZ |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W |
Area Served: | Vila do Porto |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 308 feet (94 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMA |
More Information: | SMA Maps & Info |
Facts about MCAS Miramar, (NKX):
- The big Privateers proved too heavy for the asphalt concrete runway the Army had installed in 1936 and the longer runways built in 1940, so the Navy added two concrete runways in 1943.
- The closest airport to MCAS Miramar, (NKX) is Montgomery Field (MYF), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) S of NKX.
- MCAS Miramar, (NKX) has 3 runways.
- During the 1940s, both the Navy and the Marine Corps occupied Miramar.
- In 1999, MCAS El Toro and MCAS Tustin were closed and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing returned to Miramar when it officially became Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
- In addition to being known as "MCAS Miramar,", another name for NKX is "Mitscher Field".
- The furthest airport from MCAS Miramar, (NKX) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,530 miles (18,556 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Because of MCAS Miramar,'s relatively low elevation of 478 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS Miramar, 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.
- During the 1930s, the Navy briefly used the air base for helium dirigibles.
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- 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.
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
- It has one runway which is 3,048 m × 60 m.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.