Nonstop flight route between Tucson, Arizona, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA), Tucson, Arizona, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,569 miles (or 7,353 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 Davis–Monthan Air Force Base 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 Davis–Monthan Air Force Base 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 Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA):

• The closest airport to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Tucson International Airport (TUS), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SW of DMA.
• The base was named in honor of World War I pilots Lieutenants Samuel H.
• Two other major tenants, the 563rd Rescue Group and 943rd Rescue Group, are tasked to provide combat search and rescue support worldwide.
• Military presence at the field began when Sergeant Simpson relocated his fuel and service operation to the site on 6 October 1927.
• In the 1990s, the 355 TTW continued to train A-10 crews for assignments to units in the United States, England, and Korea.
• In July 1963, the 4028th Strategic Reconnaissance Weather Wing, equipped with U-2 strategic reconnaissance aircraft, began flying global missions from Davis-Monthan.
• In 1962, the Strategic Air Command's 390th Strategic Missile Wing and its 18 Titan II ICBM sites around Tucson were activated.
• The furthest airport from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,508 miles (18,521 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Civilian operators may use Terceira Airport/Lajes Air Base after requesting a landing permit according to the rules inscribed in the AIP for Portugal, issued by the Portuguese Directorate of Civilian Aviation.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• 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".
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• Lajes Field was one of the two stopover and refueling bases for the first transatlantic crossing of non-rigid airships in 1944.
• 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.