Nonstop flight route between Meribel, France and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Méribel Airport (MFX), Meribel, France and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,697 miles (or 9,168 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 Méribel 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 Méribel 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Méribel Airport (MFX):

• Because of Méribel Airport's high elevation of 5,633 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MFX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MFX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Méribel Airport (MFX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Méribel Airport", another name for MFX is "Aéroport de Méribel".
• The closest airport to Méribel Airport (MFX) is Courchevel Airport (CVF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) ESE of MFX.
• The furthest airport from Méribel Airport (MFX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Méribel Airport (meaning Méribel Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,251 miles (19,716 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• The MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.
• Several locations were considered, Michael Army Airfield at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah, and the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field on the Goldwater Range in Arizona.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• Foreign military sales of United States fighter aircraft to Indonesia and Egypt in the mid-1970s to replace the Soviet fighter aircraft allowed these nations to clandestinely transfer un-needed MiG-21 ultra modern MiG-23s aircraft to the United States for evaluation.
• The primary access to the facility is off of U.S.
• On 17 May 1982, the move of the 4450th TG from Groom Lake to Tonopah was initiated, with the final components of the move completed in early 1983.
• The assets of the squadron could not go to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, and the fate of them remains in some cases, still classified.