Nonstop flight route between San Bernardino, California, United States and Nyingchi, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States and Nyingchi Mainling Airport (LZY), Nyingchi, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,596 miles (or 12,224 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 Nyingchi Mainling 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 Nyingchi Mainling 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
• Norton Air Force Base began before World War II as Municipal Airport, San Bernardino under Army Air Corps jurisdiction.
• On 1 March 1942, the airport was renamed San Bernardino Army Air Field and the San Bernardino Air Depot was established there.
• 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.
• A base railroad system interchanged with the Pacific Electric/Southern Pacific branch line on the south side of the installation.
• Major secondary missions of Norton Air Force Base was as Headquarters Air Defense Command for Southern California, during the 1950s and 1960s.
• 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.
• For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility for a variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies as part of Air Materiel/Air Force Logistics Command, then as part of Military Airlift/Air Mobility Command.

Facts about Nyingchi Mainling Airport (LZY):

• The closest airport to Nyingchi Mainling Airport (LZY) is Along Airport (IXV), which is located 83 miles (133 kilometers) SSE of LZY.
• Nyingchi Mainling Airport (LZY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Nyingchi Mainling Airport (LZY) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is located 11,567 miles (18,616 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• The first landing of a commercial aircraft was made by an Air China Boeing 757 without passengers on July 12, 2006.
• Known as one of the world's most difficult airports for aircraft to reach, Nyingchi Airport is situated in the valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Southeast of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, surrounded by over-4,000 metres -high mountains enveloped by clouds and fog throughout the year.
• Because of Nyingchi Mainling Airport's high elevation of 9,675 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LZY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LZY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Nyingchi Mainling Airport", other names for LZY include "林芝米林机场" and "Línzhī Mǐlín Jīchǎng".