Nonstop flight route between Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Piedras Negras International Airport (PDS), Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,130 miles (or 1,818 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 Piedras Negras International Airport 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 Piedras Negras International Airport (PDS):

• Because of Piedras Negras International Airport's relatively low elevation of 901 feet, planes can take off or land at Piedras Negras International 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 "Piedras Negras International Airport", another name for PDS is "Aeropuerto Internacional de Piedras Negras".
• Piedras Negras International Airport (PDS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Piedras Negras International Airport (PDS) is Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), which is located 53 miles (85 kilometers) NNW of PDS.
• The furthest airport from Piedras Negras International Airport (PDS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,253 miles (18,110 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• Beginning in October 1979 Tonopah Test Range Airport was reconstructed and expanded.
• 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 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 MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• Near the end of the Cold War the program was abandoned and the squadron was disbanded.