Nonstop flight route between Spokane, Washington, United States and Palmar Sur, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States and Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ), Palmar Sur, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,334 miles (or 5,366 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Palmar Sur 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Palmar Sur 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 Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• Over 5,100 active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, and tenant organization military and civilian employees work on Fairchild, making the base the largest employer in Eastern Washington.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• Following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, a total of 560 base personnel deployed to Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to March 1991.
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
• Fairchild’s location, 12 miles west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington.
• 7 December 1993 marked the beginning of a significant change in the mission of Fairchild when the B-52s were transferred to another ACC base while the KC-135s, now assigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command would remain.
• On 23 January 1987, following the inactivation of the 47th Air Division at Fairchild, the 92nd Bombardment Wing was reassigned to the 57th Air Division at Minot AFB, North Dakota.
• On 1 September 1991, under Air Force reorganization, the 92d Bombardment Wing was re-designated the 92d Wing, emphasizing a dual bombing and refueling role.
• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Fairchild is home to a wide variety of units and missions.
• The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force.

Facts about Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ):

• The closest airport to Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ) is Buenos Aires Airporrt (BAI), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNE of PMZ.
• Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Palmar Sur Airport (meaning Palmar Sur Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,212 miles (19,654 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Palmar Sur Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Palmar Sur 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.