Nonstop flight route between Daru, Western Province, Papua New Guinea and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Daru Airport (DAU), Daru, Western Province, Papua New Guinea and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,147 miles (or 11,502 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 Daru 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 Daru 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 Daru Airport (DAU):

• Daru Airport (DAU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Daru Airport (DAU) is Parnaíba–Prefeito Dr. João Silva Filho International Airport (PHB), which is located 11,542 miles (18,575 kilometers) away in Parnaiba, Piaui, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Daru Airport (DAU) is Yam Island Airport (XMY), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) SSW of DAU.
• Because of Daru Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Daru 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.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• The advent of Operation Rolling Thunder during the Vietnam War in March of 1965 led to the introduction of the obsolete and subsonic MiG-17 and the supersonic MiG-21 by the North Vietnamese Air Force being pitted against U.S.
• In 1997, the United States purchased 21 Moldovan aircraft for evaluation and analysis, under the Cooperative Threat Reduction accord.
• Near the end of the Cold War the program was abandoned and the squadron was disbanded.
• 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.
• In May 1973, when Project HAVE IDEA was initiated for joint technical and tactical evaluation of Soviet aircraft types, the tactical evaluation flights of foreign aircraft were undertaken by Detachment 1, 57th Fighter Weapons Wing.
• In 2006, the Constant Peg program was declassified and the USAF held a series of press conferences about the former top secret US MiGs.