Nonstop flight route between Rio Grande, Brazil and Houston, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), Rio Grande, Brazil and Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,110 miles (or 8,223 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 Rio Grande Regional Airport and Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field, 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 Rio Grande Regional Airport and Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field. 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 Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG):

• The closest airport to Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG) is Pelotas International Airport (PET), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNW of RIG.
• Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Rio Grande Regional Airport", other names for RIG include "Aeroporto Regional de Rio Grande" and "SJRG".
• The furthest airport from Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG) is Fukue Airport (FUJ), which is nearly antipodal to Rio Grande Regional Airport (meaning Rio Grande Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fukue Airport), and is located 12,366 miles (19,901 kilometers) away in Gotō, Nagasaki, Japan.
• Because of Rio Grande Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Rio Grande Regional 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.

Facts about Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD):

• The United States Air Force's 147th Reconnaissance Wing is an Air National Guard unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command.
• In 1952, Air Training Command expanded the training program at Ellington with the establishment of a multi-engine flying training program as part of Flying Training Air Force.
• Though the 111th Observation Squadron had the excess World War I storage and maintenance facilities at Ellington Field, the squadron did not have a true headquarters building.
• Ellington Field was the site for advanced flight training for bomber pilots.
• The furthest airport from Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of EFD.
• For the first months of operation, Ellington Field had no pilot fatalities.
• In addition to being known as "Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field", another name for EFD is "Ellington Field JRB".