Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BEX to XSD:
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- About this route
- BEX Airport Information
- XSD Airport Information
- Facts about BEX
- Facts about XSD
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEX
- List of Nearest Airports to BEX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEX
- List of Furthest Airports from BEX
- Map of Nearest Airports to XSD
- List of Nearest Airports to XSD
- Map of Furthest Airports from XSD
- List of Furthest Airports from XSD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,145 miles (or 8,281 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 Benson 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 RAF Benson 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BEX / EGUB |
| Airport Name: | RAF Benson |
| Location: | Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'59"N by 1°5'44"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from BEX |
| More Information: | BEX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | XSD / KTNX |
| Airport Name: | Tonopah Test Range Airport |
| Location: | Tonopah, Nevada, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°47'40"N by 116°46'42"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from XSD |
| More Information: | XSD Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.
- The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- The future of RAF Benson was in doubt for some time, while Project Belvedere was looking into closing at least one of Joint Helicopter Command's airfields.
- The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
- The Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.
Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):
- Near the end of the Cold War the program was abandoned and the squadron was disbanded.
- On 16 August 1966, Iraqi Air Force Captain Munir Redfa took off from Rasheed Air Base, near Baghdad on a routine navigation training flight.
- 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.
- Contrary to what some in the major media have reported, not all the jets found at captured Iraqi Air Force bases were from the Gulf War era.
- The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
- 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.
- The Tonopah Range Airport first opened in 1957, supporting operations on the Test Range itself, which was used for United States Atomic Energy Commission ) funded weapon programs.
