Nonstop flight route between Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RKS to SMX:
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- About this route
- RKS Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about RKS
- Facts about SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to RKS
- List of Nearest Airports to RKS
- Map of Furthest Airports from RKS
- List of Furthest Airports from RKS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS), Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 771 miles (or 1,241 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport and Santa Maria Public Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RKS / KRKS |
| Airport Name: | Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport |
| Location: | Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 41°35'39"N by 109°3'55"W |
| Area Served: | Rock Springs, Wyoming |
| Operator/Owner: | Rock Springs & Sweetwater County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6765 feet (2,062 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RKS |
| More Information: | RKS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
| Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
| Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
| More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Facts about Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS):
- Because of Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport's high elevation of 6,765 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,864 miles (17,484 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The closest airport to Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Kemmerer Municipal Airport (EMM), which is located 79 miles (126 kilometers) WNW of RKS.
- Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) has 2 runways.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- At one point during the early 1980's Swift Aire Lines, which was based at the nearby San Luis Obispo Airport, was the only airline flying nonstop between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, primarily with Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops which the carrier had purchased new from the manufacturer.
- Allegiant Air has expanded flights between Las Vegas and Santa Maria with four nonstops per week each way.
- Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
