Nonstop flight route between Hoedspruit, South Africa and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), Hoedspruit, South Africa and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,333 miles (or 16,629 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS):

• The base was officially opened on 1 July 1978.
• The furthest airport from Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,932 miles (19,202 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNE of HDS.
• A civil airport terminal, known as the Eastgage Airport, was established at the southern end of the airfield in the early 1990s.
• Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) has 2 runways.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• 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.
• The Tonopah Test Range airfield came into existence in 1957 and was used by the Department of Energy, the Air Force, and several contractors.
• In July 1975, the 4477th Tactical Evaluation Flight was formed at Nellis AFB as tactical evaluation organization.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• After the 4477th TES was inactivated, the remaining assets were reconstituted as a detachment of the 57th Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB.
• The assets of the squadron could not go to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, and the fate of them remains in some cases, still classified.
• Tonopah Test Range Airport, at the Tonopah Test Range is 27 NM southeast of Tonopah, Nevada and 140 mi northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
• 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 addition, unconfirmed Soviet aircraft flown were MiG-25 Foxbat.