Nonstop flight route between St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from ADX to SMX:
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- About this route
- ADX Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about ADX
- Facts about SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to ADX
- List of Nearest Airports to ADX
- Map of Furthest Airports from ADX
- List of Furthest Airports from ADX
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Leuchars (ADX), St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,152 miles (or 8,292 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 RAF Leuchars and Santa Maria Public 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 RAF Leuchars and Santa Maria Public Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | ADX / EGQL |
| Airport Name: | RAF Leuchars |
| Location: | St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 56°22'23"N by 2°52'6"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from ADX |
| More Information: | ADX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
| Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
| Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
| More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Leuchars (ADX):
- Royal Air Force station Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is the second most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom.
- The closest airport to RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Dundee Airport (DND), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NW of ADX.
- The Phantoms of 43 Squadron and 111 Squadron were replaced by Tornado F3s during 1989-1990s.
- As the Cold War reached its frostiest depths in the 1960s the development of long range aircraft allowed the Soviets regular incursion into British air space.
- As the Navy embraced the value of aviation, the aircraft carrier was added to its inventory.
- The furthest airport from RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,678 miles (18,793 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
- Leuchars is also the base for No.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- Santa Maria Public Airport is three miles south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California.
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
- The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
