Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Cherokee, Oklahoma, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA), Cherokee, Oklahoma, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,925 miles (or 6,317 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 Santa Maria Airport and Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field, 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 Santa Maria Airport and Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field. 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 Santa Maria Airport (SMA):

• Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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.
• The forerunner of SATA Air Açores initiated services concurrently to São Miguel and Terceira from Santa Maria Airport on 5 August 1947, using a plane christened "Açor".
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• A chartered Boeing 707-300, Independent Air Flight 1851 from Bergamo, Italy in 1989 crashed on approach to Santa Maria Airport, when it struck the Pico Alto mountain.

Facts about Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA):

• The closest airport to Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA) is Anthony Municipal Airport (ANY), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) N of CKA.
• The installation was first known as the Great Salt Plains Auxiliary Field, but was renamed Kegelman in 1949.
• Vance AFB student pilots and instructor pilots use the airfield to practice landings in T-6A Texan II aircraft, and refer to the field with the callsign "Dogface".
• Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,816 miles (17,407 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.