Nonstop flight route between Wichita, Kansas, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Beech Factory Airport (BEC), Wichita, Kansas, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,707 miles (or 5,967 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 Beech Factory Airport 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 Beech Factory Airport 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 Beech Factory Airport (BEC):

• The closest airport to Beech Factory Airport (BEC) is Cessna Aircraft Field (CEA), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) SSW of BEC.
• The furthest airport from Beech Factory Airport (BEC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,735 miles (17,276 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Beech Factory Airport (BEC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Beech Factory Airport is a public use airport located five nautical miles east of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Despite NATO and non-NATO fighter and transport planes which continue to use Lajes on a regular basis, the US DoD movements are now at an all time low.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• On 1 December 1943, British and U.S.
• 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 closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• In 2009 Lajes provided rescue support of shipping lanes across the Atlantic, a safe haven for medical or mechanical emergency situations in aircraft crossing the Atlantic, and support for the USAF's continuing campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• The origin of the Lajes Field dates back to 1928, when Portuguese Army Lieutenant colonel Eduardo Gomes da Silva wrote a report on the possible construction of an airfield in the plainland of Lajes, for that branch's aviation service.
• 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.
• 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.
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.