Nonstop flight route between Universal City, Texas, United States and Faro, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND), Universal City, Texas, United States and Faro International Airport (FAO), Faro, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,042 miles (or 8,114 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 Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio and Faro International Airport, 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 Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio and Faro International Airport. 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 Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND):

• Between October 1931 and March 1935, more than 2,000 candidates reported for pilot training at Randolph, which began a new class every fourth months.
• The idea for Randolph began soon after passage in the United States Congress of the Air Corps Act of 1926, which changed the name of the Army Air Service to the Army Air Corps, created two new brigadier general positions and provided a five-year expansion program for the under-strength Air Corps.
• Randolph AFB is part of Joint Base San Antonio, an amalgamation of the United States Army Fort Sam Houston, the United States Air Force Randolph Air Force Base and Lackland Air Force Base, which were merged on 1 October 2010.
• The closest airport to Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND) is San Antonio International Airport (SAT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) W of RND.
• The furthest airport from Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Although barely half-completed, Randolph Field was dedicated 20 June 1930, with an estimated 15,000 people in attendance and a fly-by of 233 planes.
• On 1 April 1952, the Air Force established the Crew Training Air Force with its headquarters at Randolph to administer nine bases and combat crew training wings, including the 3510th.
• The base is listed as a census-designated place for statistical purposes, with a population of 1,241 counted at the 2010 census.
• In addition to being known as "Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio", another name for RND is "Randolph AFB".

Facts about Faro International Airport (FAO):

• The closest airport to Faro International Airport (FAO) is Portimão Airport (PRM), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of FAO.
• Faro International Airport (FAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Faro International Airport handled 5,672,377 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Faro International Airport", another name for FAO is "Aeroporto Internacional de Faro".
• The furthest airport from Faro International Airport (FAO) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is nearly antipodal to Faro International Airport (meaning Faro International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dargaville Aerodrome), and is located 12,310 miles (19,810 kilometers) away in Dargaville, New Zealand.
• A total of 5.6 million passengers used Faro airport in 2011.
• Because of Faro International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Faro 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.