Nonstop flight route between Oak Harbor, Washington, United States and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Whidbey Island (NUW), Oak Harbor, Washington, United States and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 787 miles (or 1,266 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 relatively short distance between NAS Whidbey Island and Tonopah Test Range Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about NAS Whidbey Island (NUW):

• The other section of the air station is known as the Seaplane Base.
• The closest airport to NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is A.J. Eisenberg Airport (ODW), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of NUW.
• Because of NAS Whidbey Island's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Whidbey Island 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 early 1965, patrol squadrons began to leave NAS Whidbey.
• On December 8, three workers started a topographic survey of what would become Ault Field, about four miles to the north.
• NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Whidbey Island", another name for NUW is "Ault Field".
• In late 1993, with the pending closures of NAS Moffett Field, California and NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii additional P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft came aboard NAS Whidbey Island, along with the associated staffs of Commander, Patrol Wings, U.S.
• The furthest airport from NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,730 miles (17,268 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• A lightly utilized satellite airfield, Naval Outlying Landing Field Coupeville, is located on central Whidbey Island at 48°11′24″N 122°37′48″W / 48.19000°N 122.63000°W / 48.19000.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• 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.
• In the summer of 1979, Tonopah Test Range Airport was selected to be the home of the Tactical Air Command 4450th Tactical Group.
• 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.
• 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.
• In May 1973, when Project HAVE IDEA was initiated for joint technical and tactical evaluation of Soviet aircraft types, the tactical evaluation flights of foreign aircraft were undertaken by Detachment 1, 57th Fighter Weapons Wing.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• The MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.