Nonstop flight route between Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH), Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,710 miles (or 4,361 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 Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and Santa Maria Public 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 Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and Santa Maria Public 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 Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH):

• Otis ANGB was an alternative landing site for the Space Shuttle orbiter if it ever had to abort its mission during liftoff.
• In May 2013, it was announced that one third of the 104th Fighter Wing's F-15 aircraft would be moving to Otis to take up an alert mission for four to six month, as Barnes Municipal Airport's runway underwent renovation.
• The furthest airport from Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On September 11, 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration 's Boston Center contacted the base at 8:34 notifying them of the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11.
• The closest airport to Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH) is Barnstable Municipal Airport (HYA), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) E of FMH.
• In addition to being known as "Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod", another name for FMH is "Otis ANGB".
• The Air National Guard's and 101st Tactical Fighter Squadron used Otis when the active duty Air Force was present and shared missions with the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing while operating their own aircraft as indicated in the previous paragraph regarding the Cold War.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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 closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• The extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.