Nonstop flight route between San Bernardino, California, United States and Ambato, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States and Chachoan Airport (ATF), Ambato, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,497 miles (or 5,627 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 Norton Air Force Base and Chachoan 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 Norton Air Force Base and Chachoan 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 Norton Air Force Base (SBD):

• In 1955, the 27th AD established a Manual Air-Defense Control Center at Norton to monitor and track aircraft in Southern California.
• The aviation facilities of the base were converted into San Bernardino International Airport, and 3 of the 4 stationed squadrons – C-141 Starlifter, C-21, and C-12 Huron aircraft – were moved to nearby March Air Force Base, while the remaining squadron – C-141 aircraft – was moved to McChord Air Force Base, Washington.
• The closest airport to Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is San Bernardino International Airport (SBT), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) S of SBD.
• With the air force moving into the jet age in the late 1940s, Norton began overhauling jet engines in 1951, and the San Bernardino Air Materiel Area became one of three air force jet overhaul centers by 1953.
• Discrete C-130 Hercules modification tests were conducted out of Area II of the base in the late 1960s, with the 1198th Operational Evaluation and Training Squadron operating four highly classified C-130E special operations testbeds modified at Lockheed Air Services, at near-by Ontario Airport under projects Thin Slice and Heavy Chain.
• The furthest airport from Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,447 miles (18,423 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Major secondary missions of Norton Air Force Base was as Headquarters Air Defense Command for Southern California, during the 1950s and 1960s.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".

Facts about Chachoan Airport (ATF):

• The furthest airport from Chachoan Airport (ATF) is Pinang Kampai Airport (DUM), which is nearly antipodal to Chachoan Airport (meaning Chachoan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pinang Kampai Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,971 kilometers) away in Dumai, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• Because of Chachoan Airport's high elevation of 8,502 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ATF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ATF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Chachoan Airport (ATF) is Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) N of ATF.
• In addition to being known as "Chachoan Airport", another name for ATF is "Aeropuerto Chachoan".