Nonstop flight route between Aksu, Xinjiang, China and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Aksu Airport (AKU), Aksu, Xinjiang, China and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,869 miles (or 11,055 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 Aksu 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 Aksu 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 Aksu Airport (AKU):

• The closest airport to Aksu Airport (AKU) is Kuqa Qiuci Airport (KCA), which is located 143 miles (230 kilometers) ENE of AKU.
• The furthest airport from Aksu Airport (AKU) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,317 miles (18,214 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Aksu Airport (AKU) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Aksu Airport", other names for AKU include "阿克苏机场" and "Ākèsù Jīchǎng".

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 closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• In the 1980s, Tonopah Airport became a major operating location for the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk.
• Foreign military sales of United States fighter aircraft to Indonesia and Egypt in the mid-1970s to replace the Soviet fighter aircraft allowed these nations to clandestinely transfer un-needed MiG-21 ultra modern MiG-23s aircraft to the United States for evaluation.
• On 12 August 1968, the IDF obtained two Syrian Air Force MiG-17F fighters that had gotten lost during a training flight and landed inadvertently at Besert Landing Field, Israel.
• 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.
• What was learned during these projects prompted the US Navy to commence Top Gun exercises first at NAS Miramar, California and then NAS Fallon, Nevada.