Nonstop flight route between Funchal, Madeira, Portugal and Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Madeira Airport (FNC), Funchal, Madeira, Portugal and McGuire AFB (WRI), Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,200 miles (or 5,150 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 Madeira Airport and McGuire AFB, 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 Madeira Airport and McGuire AFB. 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 Madeira Airport (FNC):

• Because of Madeira Airport's relatively low elevation of 190 feet, planes can take off or land at Madeira 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.
• Madeira Airport handled 2,311,380 passengers last year.
• Madeira Airport (FNC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Madeira Airport (FNC) is Porto Santo Airport (PXO), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) NE of FNC.
• In 1972, the popularity of visiting the island of Madeira increased, so the runway had to be extended to allow modern and larger aircraft to land.
• In addition to being known as "Madeira Airport", another name for FNC is "Aeroporto da Madeira".
• Between 1982 and 1986, Madeira's runway was successfully extended by 200 m to a total of 1,800 m, and also four gates were opened.
• Madeira Airport was officially opened on 18 July 1964, with two 1,600 m runways.
• The furthest airport from Madeira Airport (FNC) is Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH), which is nearly antipodal to Madeira Airport (meaning Madeira Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lord Howe Island Airport), and is located 12,181 miles (19,604 kilometers) away in Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia.
• Funchal Airport is 13.2 km east-northeast of the regional capital Funchal.

Facts about McGuire AFB (WRI):

• In 1959, Air Defense Command deployed the CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile to McGuire AFB.
• These squadrons flew a variety of ADC interceptors in the 1950s, starting with the F-94 Starfire in 1952, upgrading to the F-84 Thunderjet in 1953, and finally the interceptor F-86D Sabre later in 1953.
• SAC activated the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at the newly re-designated McGuire Air Force Base on 10 November 1948.
• In addition to being known as "McGuire AFB", another name for WRI is "McGuire AFB/JB MDL McGuire".
• Flight operations to support Camp Dix at an adjacent airfield took place as early as 1926.
• The 305th Air Mobility Wing along with the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, 108th Air Refueling Wing, 621st Contingency Response Wing, and the 514th Air Mobility Wing, has supported every major type of air mobility mission over the past 15 years.
• With the departure of the 91st SRW, control of McGuire AFB was reassigned to Continental Air Command.
• As of the 2010 United States Census, the McGuire Air Force Base CDP had a total population of 3,710, of which 737 were in New Hanover Township and 2,973 were in North Hanover Township.
• The NYADS was reassigned from 26th AD on 1 April 1966 to First Air Force, until 30 September 1968 when both the sector was inactivated along with DC-01, when budget restrictions along with when technology advances allowed the Air Force to shut down many SAGE Data Centers.
• The furthest airport from McGuire AFB (WRI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,757 miles (18,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to McGuire AFB (WRI) is JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) E of WRI.
• Military Air Transport Service took over jurisdiction of McGuire AFB on 1 July 1954 and took over the flight line of McGuire in 1956, with the ADC interceptors being reassigned.