Nonstop flight route between San Angelo, Texas, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF), San Angelo, Texas, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,065 miles (or 6,542 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 Goodfellow 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 Goodfellow 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 Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF):

• The closest airport to Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF) is San Angelo Regional Airport (SJT), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) SW of GOF.
• During the next three years, intelligence training consolidation brought to Goodfellow advanced imagery training from Offutt AFB, Nebraska.
• Goodfellow's history traces to the days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but its name registered the valor and sacrifice of an earlier conflict.
• The furthest airport from Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,146 miles (17,937 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• By then, senior intelligence personnel had already begun seriously to contemplate the consolidation of all Air Force-managed intelligence training at one location.
• Although flight operations at Goodfellow decreased dramatically after 1958, minimal activities continued with both transient aircraft and locally-based Cessna U-3 Administrators, DeHavilland U-6 Beavers, Piasecki H-21, CH-21 and HH-21 Workhorse helicopters and Cessna O-2 Skymasters.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• 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 resident Portuguese 711 Squadron "Albatrozes" was deactivated on 30 November 2006.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• The United States and the United Kingdom transferred control of Lajes to Portugal in 1946.
• 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.
• By 1943, the British and American armed forces were allowed basing rights in Portugal, and the Royal Air Force took over Lajes Field as RAF Station Lajes.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• Despite NATO and non-NATO fighter and transport planes which continue to use Lajes on a regular basis, the US DoD movements are now at an all time low.
• 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".