Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Pico Island, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), Houston, Texas, United States and Pico Airport (PIX), Pico Island, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,785 miles (or 6,092 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 Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field and Pico 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 Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field and Pico 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 Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD):

• Ellington Field was also a site for the USAAC Bombardier School, also known as "the Bombardment Academy of the Air." At Ellington Field, officials planned to train 4,480 bombardier cadets per year.
• The furthest airport from Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field", another name for EFD is "Ellington Field JRB".
• In 1925 General William Mitchell conducted a "flying tour" of all National Guard Observation Squadrons throughout the United States.
• The closest airport to Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of EFD.
• World War II, with its increasing need for trained pilots, helped to reestablish Ellington Field as an active facility.
• During World War I, Ellington served as an advanced flight training base.
• In 1948, Ellington Airport was one of many airfields selected to be reactivated in an effort to maintain a large military force in the United States after World War II.

Facts about Pico Airport (PIX):

• The furthest airport from Pico Airport (PIX) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Pico Airport (meaning Pico Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,291 miles (19,781 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• Because of Pico Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Pico 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.
• In 1990, with the arrival of new ATP aircraft for SATA Air Açores' fleet, the decision was taken to extend the runway, to improve operations with this type of aircraft.
• Pico Airport (PIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Managed by SATA Gestão de Aeródromos, it has an 1,754 metres operational runway, with a width of 45 metres.
• In addition to being known as "Pico Airport", another name for PIX is "Aeroporto do Pico".
• The closest airport to Pico Airport (PIX) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) W of PIX.