Nonstop flight route between Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, United States and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport (PCD), Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, United States and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,276 miles (or 5,272 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 Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport 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 Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport 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 Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport (PCD):

• Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport (PCD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport (PCD) is Decorah Municipal Airport (DEH), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) WNW of PCD.
• The furthest airport from Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport (PCD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,894 miles (17,532 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 661 feet, planes can take off or land at Prairie du Chien Municipal 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.
• In addition to being known as "Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport", another name for PCD is "PDC".

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance was established.
• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• 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.
• 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".
• Despite NATO and non-NATO fighter and transport planes which continue to use Lajes on a regular basis, the US DoD movements are now at an all time low.
• The civilian terminal also plays an important role in support of passenger and cargo airliners, executive, corporate and private jets flying to the island or beyond as the central location in the Azores group of islands makes it an ideal spot for refuelling or stopover.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.