Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and El Centro, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RIA to NJK:
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- About this route
- RIA Airport Information
- NJK Airport Information
- Facts about RIA
- Facts about NJK
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIA
- List of Nearest Airports to RIA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIA
- List of Furthest Airports from RIA
- Map of Nearest Airports to NJK
- List of Nearest Airports to NJK
- Map of Furthest Airports from NJK
- List of Furthest Airports from NJK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (RIA), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK), El Centro, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,925 miles (or 9,535 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 Santa Maria Airport and Naval Air Facility El Centro, 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 Santa Maria Airport and Naval Air Facility El Centro. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RIA / SBSM |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°42'38"S by 53°41'31"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria |
Operator/Owner: | Brazilian Air Force |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 289 feet (88 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIA |
More Information: | RIA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NJK / KNJK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | El Centro, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°49'45"N by 115°40'18"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Naval Air Facility |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from NJK |
More Information: | NJK Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (RIA):
- In 1944 the President of Brazil Getúlio Vargas allocated an area of 4 million square meters near Santa Maria with the purpose of building an aerodrome.
- Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 289 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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.
- It is operated by the Brazilian Air Force.
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is Aguni Airport (AGJ), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aguni Airport), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Aguni, Japan.
- Santa Maria Airport is the airport serving Santa Maria, Brazil.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for RIA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is João Batista Bos Filho Airport (IJU), which is located 93 miles (150 kilometers) N of RIA.
- Santa Maria Airport (RIA) has 2 runways.
Facts about Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK):
- Much of the movie "Jarhead" was filmed around El Centro and many of the extras from the movie were from NAF El Centro.
- Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Facility El Centro", another name for NJK is "KNJK - FAA: NJK".
- The closest airport to Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Imperial County Airport (IPL), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) E of NJK.
- The facility has two operating runways.
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,532 miles (18,558 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- For the first 35 years, the mission of NAF El Centro was devoted to aeronautical escape system testing, evaluation, and design.