Nonstop flight route between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,056 miles (or 4,918 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 Kincheloe Air Force Base and Santa Maria 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 Kincheloe Air Force Base and Santa Maria 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 Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR):

• The 507th Fighter Wing continued to employ F-106 aircraft at Kincheloe AFB until its inactivation on Sep.
• In December 1965, the Department of Defense announced a decision to close Kincheloe AFB by October 1971.
• In May 1958 the 438th FIS was temporarily transferred to K.
• The closest airport to Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of INR.
• As a result of the phase down, ADC moved the 438th Fighter Interceptor Squadron to Griffiss AFB, New York.
• The 438th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was upgraded again to the F-106 Delta Dart interceptor in June 1960, one of the first ADC squadrons to receive the new interceptor.
• With the outbreak of the Cold War in 1948 and active combat in the Korean War in June, 1950, the United States began building up its defenses.
• The furthest airport from Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Next, Kincheloe AFB was assigned to the Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector at K.

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• The forerunner of SATA Air Açores initiated services concurrently to São Miguel and Terceira from Santa Maria Airport on 5 August 1947, using a plane christened "Açor".
• The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
• Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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.
• A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• Santa Maria Airport is an airport located 5 km west northwest of the urbanized area of Vila do Porto on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, in the autonomous region of the Azores.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.