Nonstop flight route between Las Vegas, Nevada, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] (LSV), Las Vegas, Nevada, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,195 miles (or 5,141 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 Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] and Mercedita 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 Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] and Mercedita 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 Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] (LSV):

• Renamed Las Vegas Air Force Base on 13 January 1948:63 and assigned as a subinstallation of Williams AFB on 1 April, the 3595th Pilot Training Wing was established on 22 December 1948.:54 Training began at Las Vegas AFB on 1 March 1949 with 5 squadrons using P-51 Mustangs for a 6-month course.
• The Nellis AFB mission of advanced combat training for composite strike forces is commonly conducted in conjunction with air and grounds units of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and allied forces.
• The USAF Fighter Weapons School was designated on 1 January 1954 from the squadron when the Air Crew School graduated its last Combat Crew Training Class In the mid-1950s for Operation Teapot nuclear testing, 1 of the 12 Zone Commanders was based at Nellis AFB for community liaison/public relations.Air Training Command suspended training at the Nellis fighter weapons school in late 1956 because of the almost total failure of the F-86 Sabre aircraft used at Nellis, and during 1958 ATC discontinued its Flying Training and Technical Training.
• Renamed to McCarran Field in the mid-1930s, there were "difficulties in securing the use" of the airfield north of Las Vegas for a Nevada World War II Army Airfield.) McCarran Field was bought on 2 January 1941 by the City of Las Vegas, was leased to the Army on 5 January, and was "signed over" to the Quartermaster Corps on 25 January—Army construction began in March 1941.:2-1 The city's Federal Building became the May 1941 location of the 79th Air Base Group detachment, and a month later 5 administrative NCOs plus other support personnel arrived.WPA barracks in Las Vegas were used for enlisted men, and the motor pool with 6 vintage trucks and a semi-trailer was next to the WPA barracks.
• In addition to being known as "Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2]", another name for LSV is "Nellis AFB (military installation)".
• Nellis Area I has the airfield, recreation and shopping facilities, dormitories/temporary lodging, some family housing, "and most of the command and support structures", e.g., Suter Hall for Red Flag.
• The USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons Center activated at Nellis AFB on 1 January 1966 is the USAF authority for employment of tactical fighter weapons.
• The furthest airport from Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] (LSV) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,293 miles (18,174 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] (LSV) is North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) WSW of LSV.

Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):

• Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
• 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".
• 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.
• The airport is also home of the southern aerial division of the Puerto Rico Police Department.