Nonstop flight route between Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Abha Regional Airport (AHB), Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,341 miles (or 13,424 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 Abha Regional Airport and Tonopah Test Range 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 Abha Regional Airport and Tonopah Test Range 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 Abha Regional Airport (AHB):

• In addition to being known as "Abha Regional Airport", another name for AHB is "مطار أبهـــا".
• The furthest airport from Abha Regional Airport (AHB) is Pukarua Airport (PUK), which is nearly antipodal to Abha Regional Airport (meaning Abha Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pukarua Airport), and is located 12,415 miles (19,980 kilometers) away in Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Abha Regional Airport (AHB) is Bisha Domestic Airport (BHH), which is located 121 miles (194 kilometers) N of AHB.
• Because of Abha Regional Airport's high elevation of 6,858 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AHB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AHB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Abha Regional Airport (AHB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 6,858 feet above mean sea level.
• Construction of Abha Airport was started in mid-1975 by Laing Wimpey Alireza.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• The MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.
• The advent of Operation Rolling Thunder during the Vietnam War in March of 1965 led to the introduction of the obsolete and subsonic MiG-17 and the supersonic MiG-21 by the North Vietnamese Air Force being pitted against U.S.
• The furthest airport from Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,207 miles (18,036 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In 2006, the Constant Peg program was declassified and the USAF held a series of press conferences about the former top secret US MiGs.
• On 16 August 1966, Iraqi Air Force Captain Munir Redfa took off from Rasheed Air Base, near Baghdad on a routine navigation training flight.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• The Tonopah Test Range airfield came into existence in 1957 and was used by the Department of Energy, the Air Force, and several contractors.
• In addition, unconfirmed Soviet aircraft flown were MiG-25 Foxbat.
• In 1980 the 4477th TEF was re-designated as the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the operation was renamed again to Constant Peg.
• In the summer of 1979, Tonopah Test Range Airport was selected to be the home of the Tactical Air Command 4450th Tactical Group.
• The earliest known depiction of the airfield was on the July 1970 Air Force Tactical Pilotage Chart.