Nonstop flight route between Lake Murray, Papua New Guinea and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Murray Airport (LMY), Lake Murray, Papua New Guinea and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,154 miles (or 11,514 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 Lake Murray 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 Lake Murray 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 Lake Murray Airport (LMY):

• Because of Lake Murray Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Lake Murray 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.
• The closest airport to Lake Murray Airport (LMY) is Aiambak Airport (AIH), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SW of LMY.
• The furthest airport from Lake Murray Airport (LMY) is Parnaíba–Prefeito Dr. João Silva Filho International Airport (PHB), which is located 11,717 miles (18,857 kilometers) away in Parnaiba, Piaui, Brazil.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• Several locations were considered, Michael Army Airfield at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah, and the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field on the Goldwater Range in Arizona.
• The MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.
• In 1980 the 4477th TEF was re-designated as the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the operation was renamed again to Constant Peg.
• What was learned during these projects prompted the US Navy to commence Top Gun exercises first at NAS Miramar, California and then NAS Fallon, 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.
• On 16 August 1966, Iraqi Air Force Captain Munir Redfa took off from Rasheed Air Base, near Baghdad on a routine navigation training flight.
• In 1997, the United States purchased 21 Moldovan aircraft for evaluation and analysis, under the Cooperative Threat Reduction accord.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• 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.
• 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.