Nonstop flight route between Nanchong, Sichuan, China and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO), Nanchong, Sichuan, China and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,979 miles (or 11,232 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 Nanchong Gaoping Airport and Santa Maria Public 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 Nanchong Gaoping Airport and Santa Maria Public 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 Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO):

• Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Nanchong Gaoping Airport", other names for NAO include "南充高坪机场" and "Nanchong Gaoping Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO) is Dazhou Heshi Airport (DAX), which is located 79 miles (127 kilometers) ENE of NAO.
• The furthest airport from Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Nanchong Gaoping Airport (meaning Nanchong Gaoping Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,268 miles (19,744 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
• During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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 extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).