Nonstop flight route between Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DCA to SDU:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- DCA Airport Information
- SDU Airport Information
- Facts about DCA
- Facts about SDU
- Map of Nearest Airports to DCA
- List of Nearest Airports to DCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from DCA
- List of Furthest Airports from DCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SDU
- List of Nearest Airports to SDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDU
- List of Furthest Airports from SDU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States and Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,797 miles (or 7,720 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 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Santos Dumont 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 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Santos Dumont Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | DCA / KDCA |
| Airport Name: | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport |
| Location: | Arlington County, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 38°51'7"N by 77°2'16"W |
| Area Served: | Washington Metropolitan Area |
| Operator/Owner: | Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 15 feet (5 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DCA |
| More Information: | DCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SDU / SBRJ |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| GPS Coordinates: | 22°54'37"S by 43°9'46"W |
| Area Served: | Rio de Janeiro |
| Operator/Owner: | Infraero |
| Airport Type: | Public/Military |
| Elevation: | 11 feet (3 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SDU |
| More Information: | SDU Maps & Info |
Facts about Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):
- The Ronand Reagan Washington National Airport station on the Washington Metro, serving the Yellow and Blue lines, is located on an elevated outdoor platform station adjacent to Terminals B and C.
- The Washington National Airport Terminal and South Hangar Line were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has 3 runways.
- Other than 40 slot exemptions, flights into and out of DCA are not allowed to exceed 1,250 statute miles in any direction nonstop, in an effort to send air traffic to the larger but more distant Washington Dulles International Airport.
- The furthest airport from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,682 miles (18,800 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Reagan National Airport has noise restrictions that are some of the most restrictive in the country.
- The runway layout has changed little, except for the 1956 closure of a fourth, east–west runway now used for taxiing and aircraft parking.
- The airport opened June 16, 1941.
- On March 23, 2011, the air traffic control supervisor on duty reportedly fell asleep during the night shift.
- The closest airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is Bolling Air Force Base (BOF), which is located only 1 miles (2 kilometers) ESE of DCA.
- Because of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Ronald Reagan Washington National 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 Santos Dumont Airport (SDU):
- In 2012, the airport was ranked 6th in terms of transported passengers and aircraft operations, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country.
- Over the years, the airport's main runway has been extended several times, first to 2,300 feet, then to 3,000 feet, and finally 4,340 feet.
- Because of Santos Dumont Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Santos Dumont 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.
- The furthest airport from Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Santos Dumont Airport (meaning Santos Dumont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,125 miles (19,513 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
- Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) has 2 runways.
- It was announced on 5 August 2009 that in order to renew its operational licence the Rio de Janeiro State Environment Institute – INEA would require Santos Dumont Airport to adjust operational standards.
- The closest airport to Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SDU.
- In addition to being known as "Santos Dumont Airport", another name for SDU is "Aeroporto Santos Dumont".
- Adjoining the original seaplane terminal, Pan American World Airways and its Brazilian subsidiary Panair do Brasil constructed their own dedicated terminal for seaplanes and aircraft with landing gear.
- Santos Dumont Airport handled 9,204,603 passengers last year.
