Nonstop flight route between Kaitaia, New Zealand and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kaitaia Airport (KAT), Kaitaia, New Zealand and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,735 miles (or 10,840 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 Kaitaia Airport 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 Kaitaia Airport 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 Kaitaia Airport (KAT):

• The closest airport to Kaitaia Airport (KAT) is Kerikeri Airport (KKE), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) ESE of KAT.
• Because of Kaitaia Airport's relatively low elevation of 270 feet, planes can take off or land at Kaitaia 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.
• Kaitaia Airport (KAT) has 2 runways.
• These distances are within the range of many light aircraft when fitted with long range tanks, while the direct distances are usually used with the larger private aircraft which are able to land at Kaitaia Airport.
• 852 km to the North West of Kaitaia is Norfolk Island Airport from which it is 754 km to Noumea in New Caledonia, or 900 km to Lord Howe Island which can be used as a stepping stone to the Australian mainland.
• The furthest airport from Kaitaia Airport (KAT) is Kenitra Air Base (NNA), which is nearly antipodal to Kaitaia Airport (meaning Kaitaia Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kenitra Air Base), and is located 12,383 miles (19,929 kilometers) away in Kenitra, Morocco.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• The Tonopah Range Airport first opened in 1957, supporting operations on the Test Range itself, which was used for United States Atomic Energy Commission ) funded weapon programs.
• After the 4477th TES was inactivated, the remaining assets were reconstituted as a detachment of the 57th Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB.
• In 1969 Pakistan supplied the U.S.
• None of the Soviet-designed aircraft at Tonopah flew in bad weather or at night.
• The earliest known depiction of the airfield was on the July 1970 Air Force Tactical Pilotage Chart.
• 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 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.