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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States and Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,723 miles (or 12,429 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 Shigatse Peace 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 Shigatse Peace 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
• In the 1960s, Norton expanded its depot support mission by supporting Titan and Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles s, with depot-level logistical support.
• 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.
• 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.
• Major secondary missions of Norton Air Force Base was as Headquarters Air Defense Command for Southern California, during the 1950s and 1960s.
• LAADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the designation was returned as the 27th Air Division, being stationed at Luke AFB, Arizona under Fourth Air Force as part of a consolidation with the inactivating Phoenix Air Defense Sector.
• 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.

Facts about Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ):

• In addition to being known as "Shigatse Peace Airport", other names for RKZ include "日喀则和平机场" and "Rìkāzé Hépíng Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) E of RKZ.
• The furthest airport from Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,297 miles (18,181 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• Because of Shigatse Peace Airport's high elevation of 12,408 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) currently has only 1 runway.