Nonstop flight route between Bordeaux / Mérignac, France and San Bernardino, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD), Bordeaux / Mérignac, France and Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,690 miles (or 9,158 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 Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport and Norton Air Force 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 Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport and Norton Air Force 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 Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD):

• The furthest airport from Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (meaning Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,215 miles (19,658 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) is La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) SW of BOD.
• In addition to being known as "Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport", another name for BOD is "Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac".
• In 1957, C-119G transports from Évreux AB, France moved the USAFE Mobile Headquarters from Wiesbaden AB, Ger.
• Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport handled 457,435 passengers last year.
• Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) has 2 runways.
• Because of Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport 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.
• On 1 October 1958, Bordeaux-Mérignac Air Base was closed to reduce USAFE expenses and manpower.
• General Charles de Gaulle took off from the airport to travel to London in 1940, and the following day he broadcast the Appeal of 18 June.

Facts about Norton Air Force Base (SBD):

• Discrete C-130 Hercules modification tests were conducted out of Area II of the base in the late 1960s, with the 1198th Operational Evaluation and Training Squadron operating four highly classified C-130E special operations testbeds modified at Lockheed Air Services, at near-by Ontario Airport under projects Thin Slice and Heavy Chain.
• Norton Air Force Base began before World War II as Municipal Airport, San Bernardino under Army Air Corps jurisdiction.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
• The aviation facilities of the base were converted into San Bernardino International Airport, and 3 of the 4 stationed squadrons – C-141 Starlifter, C-21, and C-12 Huron aircraft – were moved to nearby March Air Force Base, while the remaining squadron – C-141 aircraft – was moved to McChord Air Force Base, Washington.
• On 1 March 1942, the airport was renamed San Bernardino Army Air Field and the San Bernardino Air Depot was established there.
• The furthest airport from Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,447 miles (18,423 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In 1950, Air Defense Command activated the 27th Air Division at Norton AFB, being assigned to the Western Air Defense Force.
• Norton AFB was closed as a result of Base Realignment and Closure action 1988 in 1994.
• The closest airport to Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is San Bernardino International Airport (SBT), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) S of SBD.