Nonstop flight route between Clovis, New Mexico, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS), Clovis, New Mexico, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,115 miles (or 6,622 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 Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF 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 Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF 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 Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS):

• The closest airport to Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS) is Clovis Municipal Airport (CVN), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) ENE of CVS.
• It was assumed that the F-100s would probably not be an effective fighter in air-to-air combat, since it lacked a powerful radar set and could not carry advanced air-to-air weapons.
• In addition to being known as "Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF", another name for CVS is "Cannon AFB".
• The first USAF unit to use Clovis AFB was the Air National Guard's 140th Fighter-Bomber Wing, which arrived in October 1951 after being activated due to the Korean War.
• With the departure of the 388th to France and TAC's commitment to NATO completed, the 312th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated at Clovis AFB on 1 October 1954 as a permanent organization.
• The furthest airport from Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,139 miles (17,926 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• Recently, in August 2010, Portuguese news agencies advised for the termination of the F-22 Raptor plan to use Lajes as a platform for DACT training over the Atlantic Ocean.
• The civilian terminal also plays an important role in support of passenger and cargo airliners, executive, corporate and private jets flying to the island or beyond as the central location in the Azores group of islands makes it an ideal spot for refuelling or stopover.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The base also supports other NATO and non-NATO armed forces assets crossing the Atlantic for transport, VIP, exercise, relief or humanitarian duties.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• 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.
• In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance was established.