Nonstop flight route between Las Vegas, Nevada, United States and Santa Maria, Portugal:

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 Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,771 miles (or 7,678 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 Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria 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):

• In March 1945, the base switched to B-29 gunnery training which included the manipulation trainer on the ground with camera guns, and the subsequent population peaked with nearly 11,000 officers and enlisted personnel including more than 4,700 students.
• Las Vegas Army Airfield was both activated and began flying training on 20 December 1941, and gunnery training began in January 1942,:2–3 Many pieces of the destroyed aerial drone targets litter the hillside north of the gunnery range and can be seen in town when the sun reflects off of them.
• There were 2,873 households out of which 52.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families.
• 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)".
• 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.
• The Nellis Air Force Base CDP is a 3.1 sq mi region defined by the United States Census Bureau as of the 2010 United States Census.
• 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 FWC supervised Red Flag operational training and other continuing air exercises, such as Green Flag and Silver Flag Alpha.

Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• Transportes Aéreos Portugueses began lay-over flights to this airport on 7 December 1962, eventually inaugurating trans-Atlantic service between Santa Maria-New York and Santa Maria-Montreal.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• It was built in the context of the Second World War, by US troops in order to maintain supply lines to Europe, and inaugurated on 26 July 1945.
• A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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 furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.