Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MEL to XSD:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- MEL Airport Information
- XSD Airport Information
- Facts about MEL
- Facts about XSD
- Map of Nearest Airports to MEL
- List of Nearest Airports to MEL
- Map of Furthest Airports from MEL
- List of Furthest Airports from MEL
- Map of Nearest Airports to XSD
- List of Nearest Airports to XSD
- Map of Furthest Airports from XSD
- List of Furthest Airports from XSD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,136 miles (or 13,094 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | MEL / YMML |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°40'23"S by 144°50'35"E |
| Area Served: | Melbourne |
| Operator/Owner: | Australia Pacific Airports Corporation Limited |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 434 feet (132 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MEL |
| More Information: | MEL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | XSD / KTNX |
| Airport Name: | Tonopah Test Range Airport |
| Location: | Tonopah, Nevada, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°47'40"N by 116°46'42"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from XSD |
| More Information: | XSD Maps & Info |
Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):
- Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
- The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
- Melbourne Airport was originally called Tullamarine Airport, after the adjacent suburb of the same name.
- In 1988, the Australian Government formed the Federal Airports Corporation, placing Melbourne Airport under the operational control of the new corporation along with 21 other airports around the nation.
- The first major upgrades at the airport were carried out at the domestic terminals, with an expansion of the Ansett domestic terminal approved in 1989 and completed in 1991, adding a second pier added for use by smaller regional airlines.
- In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
- Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.
- In May 1959 it was announced that a new airport would be built at Tullamarine, with Prime Minister Robert Menzies announcing on 27 November 1962 a five-year plan to provide Melbourne with a A$45 million "jetport" by 1967.
- Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
- Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline.
- Terminal 3 – opened with the airport as the Ansett Australia terminal, but is now owned by Melbourne Airport.
Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):
- Contrary to what some in the major media have reported, not all the jets found at captured Iraqi Air Force bases were from the Gulf War era.
- In 1969 Pakistan supplied the U.S.
- The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
- 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.
- All the models had quirks.
- Tonopah Test Range Airport, at the Tonopah Test Range is 27 NM southeast of Tonopah, Nevada and 140 mi northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Pakistan was the first and largest customer of the J-6 receiving nearly 300 aircraft, mostly of the J-6C variety.
- 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.
- In addition, unconfirmed Soviet aircraft flown were MiG-25 Foxbat.
