Nonstop flight route between Minden, Nevada, United States and Iquique, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), Minden, Nevada, United States and Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ), Iquique, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,213 miles (or 8,390 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 Minden-Tahoe Airport and Diego Aracena International 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 Minden-Tahoe Airport and Diego Aracena International 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 Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV):

• During the winter months, the famous Sierra mountain wave can carry gliders well over 25,000 ft, with the Minden record well over 40,000 ft.
• The closest airport to Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) is Carson Airport (CSN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of MEV.
• Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) has 3 runways.
• Minden-Tahoe Airport is the base for the "Introduction to Soaring" tutorial mission supplied with Microsoft Flight Simulator X.
• Because of Minden-Tahoe Airport's high elevation of 4,722 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MEV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MEV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• A non-fatal mid-air collision near the Pine Nuts range between a glider and a small jet at 16,000 ft has heightened the awareness for all airplanes flying in the area that both types of aircraft need to watch out for each other.
• The furthest airport from Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,200 miles (18,025 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The airport is currently undergoing an expansion plan where glider operations will be moved to the East Side of the airport.

Facts about Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ):

• In addition to being known as "Diego Aracena International Airport", another name for IQQ is "Aeropuerto Internacional Diego Aracena".
• The closest airport to Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ) is Carolina Airport (CLN), which is located 150 miles (241 kilometers) S of IQQ.
• The furthest airport from Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ) is Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA), which is nearly antipodal to Diego Aracena International Airport (meaning Diego Aracena International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zhanjiang Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,921 kilometers) away in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China.
• Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Diego Aracena International Airport's relatively low elevation of 154 feet, planes can take off or land at Diego Aracena International 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.