Nonstop flight route between San Bernardino, California, United States and Royan, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States and Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN), Royan, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,644 miles (or 9,084 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 Royan - Médis Aerodrome, 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 Royan - Médis Aerodrome. 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 1950, Air Defense Command activated the 27th Air Division at Norton AFB, being assigned to the Western Air Defense Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1955, the 27th AD established a Manual Air-Defense Control Center at Norton to monitor and track aircraft in Southern California.
• 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.
• Recently, private development on the former base has helped turn the basically unused land into jobs and revenue for the city of San Bernardino as several companies have opened distribution centers on the property.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".

Facts about Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN):

• Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Royan - Médis Aerodrome", another name for RYN is "Aérodrome de Royan-Médis".
• Because of Royan - Médis Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at Royan - Médis Aerodrome 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 furthest airport from Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Royan - Médis Aerodrome (meaning Royan - Médis Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,182 miles (19,605 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN) is Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) E of RYN.