Nonstop flight route between Tulare, California, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mefford Field (TLR), Tulare, California, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,825 miles (or 7,765 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 Mefford Field and Lajes Air Base, 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 Mefford Field and Lajes Air Base. 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 Mefford Field (TLR):

• The closest airport to Mefford Field (TLR) is Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNW of TLR.
• In addition to being known as "Mefford Field", another name for TLR is "Tulare Airport".
• As Rankin Academy moved to its permanent site, Mefford Field returned to daily operations as a civilian airfield, which it continues to do to this day.
• For the 12-month period ending April 5, 2011, the airport had 26,180 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 71 per day.
• Mefford Field (TLR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mefford Field (TLR) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,364 miles (18,289 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Mefford Field's relatively low elevation of 265 feet, planes can take off or land at Mefford Field 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 Lajes Air Base (TER):

• In August 2006, Portuguese news agencies reported that both governments were in discussions for a new agreement that could allow the use of Lajes for the training of a permanent F-22 Raptor squadron.
• Because of Lajes Air Base's relatively low elevation of 180 feet, planes can take off or land at Lajes Air Base 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.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Lajes Air Base", other names for TER include "Base Aérea das Lajes", "Base Aérea Nº 4" and "Aeroporto das Lajes".
• The Portuguese Air Force continues to operate one SAR squadron Esq.
• During World War II, the designation of the airfield was changed to Air Base No.4 and the Portuguese government expanded the runway, sending troops and equipment to Terceira, including Gloster Gladiator fighters.
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• The furthest airport from Lajes Air Base (TER) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Lajes Air Base (meaning Lajes Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,229 miles (19,680 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.