Nonstop flight route between Fallon, Nevada, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL), Fallon, Nevada, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,672 miles (or 7,520 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 Naval Air Station Fallon and Lajes Air Base, 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 Naval Air Station Fallon and Lajes Air Base. 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 Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL):

• Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars.
• Between 1956 and 1975, the United States Air Force Air Defense Command operated a General Surveillance Radar station at NAS Fallon.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Fallon", another name for NFL is "Van Voorhis Field".
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,140 miles (17,928 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL) is Fallon Municipal Airport (FLX), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNW of NFL.
• Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL) has 3 runways.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• In 1961, the Portuguese Air Force EICAP was transferred to Lajes, operating Douglas C-47, Douglas C-54 and later CASA C-212 Aviocar.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• In addition to being known as "Lajes Air Base", other names for TER include "Base Aérea das Lajes", "Base Aérea Nº 4" and "Aeroporto das Lajes".
• In 1947, the Portuguese Esquadra 41 started to operate from Lajes, equipped with Boeing SB-17, Grumman HU-16 Albatross, Douglas C-54 Skymaster and, later Sikorsky H-19.
• Recently, in August 2010, Portuguese news agencies advised for the termination of the F-22 Raptor plan to use Lajes as a platform for DACT training over the Atlantic Ocean.
• Lajes supported the large airlift during the Gulf War.
• The furthest airport from Lajes Air Base (TER) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Lajes Air Base (meaning Lajes Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,229 miles (19,680 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• Because of Lajes Air Base's relatively low elevation of 180 feet, planes can take off or land at Lajes Air Base 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.