Nonstop flight route between San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Rafael Airport (AFA), San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,049 miles (or 9,735 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 San Rafael Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield, 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 San Rafael Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield. 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 San Rafael Airport (AFA):

• San Rafael Airport (AFA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to San Rafael Airport (AFA) is Comodoro D. Ricardo Salomón Airport (LGS), which is located 91 miles (147 kilometers) SW of AFA.
• The furthest airport from San Rafael Airport (AFA) is Luoyang Beijiao Airport (LYA), which is nearly antipodal to San Rafael Airport (meaning San Rafael Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Luoyang Beijiao Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,941 kilometers) away in Luoyang, Henan, China.
• In addition to being known as "San Rafael Airport", another name for AFA is "Aeropuerto San Rafael "Santiago Germano"".

Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• By far the most famous and visible sites are Hangars #1, #2, and #3, which dwarf the surrounding buildings.
• In 1931, the city of Sunnyvale acquired a 1,000 acres parcel of farmland bordering San Francisco Bay, paid for with nearly $480,000 raised by the citizens of Santa Clara County, then "sold" the parcel for $1 to the US government as a home base for the Navy airship USS Macon.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• Moffett Federal Airfield has occasional air traffic, with an average of 5-10 flights landing per day.
• The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• Upon taking jurisdiction of Moffett Field, the Army took on the high cost of Hangar One's maintenance and wanted to inactivate the facility.
• Post-Cold War defense cutbacks and related Base Realignment and Closure actions in the 1990s identified NAS Moffett Field for closure.
• The airship hangar's interior is so large that fog sometimes forms near the ceiling.
• Moffett Field's Hangars Two and Three were built at the beginning of WWII for a program of coastal defense.
• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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.
• Moffett Field's "Hangar One" and the row of World War II blimp hangars are still some of the largest unsupported structures in the country.
• The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.