Nonstop flight route between Jacksonville, Arkansas, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF), Jacksonville, Arkansas, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,957 miles (or 3,149 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 relatively short distance between Little Rock Air Force Base and Mercedita Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF):

• The furthest airport from Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,887 miles (17,521 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Little Rock Air Force Base", another name for LRF is "Little Rock AFB".
• The closest airport to Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF) is Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport (LIT), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) SSW of LRF.
• Little Rock Air Force Base is the home of the 19th Airlift Wing, the host unit.
• From the mid-1990s to the late 1990s, the 314 AW and the 463 AG supported the air war over Serbia and since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the 463 AG has supported both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• On 1 January 1976, the 189 TRG transferred being a TAC-gained unit to a SAC-gained unit when it converted to the KC-135 Stratotanker and was redesignated the 189th Air Refueling Group, becoming one of the first Air National Guard units to be assigned to Strategic Air Command with a concomitant requirement to maintain a 24-hour alert force at Little Rock as well as deployments to support worldwide tanker task forces.
• References for history introduction, major commands and major units

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• Because of Mercedita Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Mercedita 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.
• After Ponce's mayor Rafael Cordero signed a contract to build a major seaport in the area, Mercedita's directors decided to expand the airport's runway to 8,000 ft to accommodate anticipated growth in airline traffic.
• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In early 2010, members of the Ponce Chamber of Commerce strongly criticized the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and its director Alvaro Pilar Villagran after failure to execute on a legally binding agreement of November 2008, whereby the Ports Authority agreed to an investment of $8 million to build an airport drainage system needed as part of any additional expansion work.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
• The takeoff/landing strip was then only 850 feet long by 50 feet wide.
• In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
• On June 24, 1972, Prinair Flight 191, which took off from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed while attempting to land at Mercedita Airport.
• The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
• The furthest airport from Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Mercedita Airport (meaning Mercedita Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,201 miles (19,636 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.