Nonstop flight route between Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Finschhafen Airport (FIN), Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,791 miles (or 10,929 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 Finschhafen 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 Finschhafen 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 Finschhafen Airport (FIN):

• Finschhafen Airport (FIN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Finschhafen Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Finschhafen 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 addition to being known as "Finschhafen Airport", another name for FIN is "Finschhafen Airport".
• The closest airport to Finschhafen Airport (FIN) is Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) W of FIN.
• The airport was built during World War II in late 1943 by the United States Army 807th and 808th Aviation Engineer Battalions which constructed a 6,000' x 100' coral and steel matting single runway running NNW to SSE.
• The furthest airport from Finschhafen Airport (FIN) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• All the models had quirks.
• What was learned during these projects prompted the US Navy to commence Top Gun exercises first at NAS Miramar, California and then NAS Fallon, Nevada.
• 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.
• On 12 August 1968, the IDF obtained two Syrian Air Force MiG-17F fighters that had gotten lost during a training flight and landed inadvertently at Besert Landing Field, Israel.
• 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.
• In 1980 the 4477th TEF was re-designated as the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the operation was renamed again to Constant Peg.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• Near the end of the Cold War the program was abandoned and the squadron was disbanded.
• In 2003, after the seizure of the Iraqi Air Force Al-Taqaddum Air Base, an advanced Russian MiG-25 Foxbat was found buried in the sand after an informant tipped off U.S.
• The Tonopah Test Range airfield came into existence in 1957 and was used by the Department of Energy, the Air Force, and several contractors.