Nonstop flight route between Lamu, Kenya and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Manda Airport (LAU), Lamu, Kenya and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,603 miles (or 15,454 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 Manda 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 Manda 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 Manda Airport (LAU):

• On 14 October 2003 at about 9.00 am, local time, a Cessna 208 Caravan I owned ans operated by Airkenya Express, with one pilot and no passengers, took off from Wilson Airport in Nairobi, headed for Manda Airport in Lamu, approximately 450 kilometres, by air, to the southeast.
• The furthest airport from Manda Airport (LAU) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,607 miles (18,679 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Manda Airport (LAU) is Kiwayu Airport (KWY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NE of LAU.
• Manda Airport (LAU) has 2 runways.
• Its location is approximately 450 kilometres, by air, southeast of Nairobi International Airport, the country's largest civilian airport.
• Because of Manda Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Manda 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.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• Foreign military sales of United States fighter aircraft to Indonesia and Egypt in the mid-1970s to replace the Soviet fighter aircraft allowed these nations to clandestinely transfer un-needed MiG-21 ultra modern MiG-23s aircraft to the United States for evaluation.
• Near the end of the Cold War the program was abandoned and the squadron was disbanded.
• 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 Test Range airfield came into existence in 1957 and was used by the Department of Energy, the Air Force, and several contractors.
• 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.
• In the 1980s, Tonopah Airport became a major operating location for the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk.
• 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.