Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Spokane, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SMA to SKA:
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- About this route
- SMA Airport Information
- SKA Airport Information
- Facts about SMA
- Facts about SKA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMA
- List of Nearest Airports to SMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMA
- List of Furthest Airports from SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SKA
- List of Nearest Airports to SKA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SKA
- List of Furthest Airports from SKA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,499 miles (or 7,240 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 Fairchild Air Force Base, 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 Fairchild Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMA / LPAZ |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Santa Maria, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W |
Area Served: | Vila do Porto |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 308 feet (94 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMA |
More Information: | SMA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SKA / KSKA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Spokane, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°36'54"N by 117°39'20"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SKA |
More Information: | SKA Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- 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".
- It has one runway which is 3,048 m × 60 m.
- 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.
- For a while, Air France's supersonic Concordes were routed to Santa Maria on refueling layovers between Paris and Caracas.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):
- In June 1992, with the inactivation of Strategic Air Command, the B-52 portion of the wing became part of the newly established Air Combat Command and was re-designated the 92d Bomb Wing.
- 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 AFB was established in 1942 as the Spokane Air Depot.
- In 1995 aircraft from Fairchild flew to Travis AFB, California in support of its first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty mission, transporting Russian inspectors to sites in the Western U.S.
- On 13 March 1987, a KC-135A crashed into a field adjacent to the 92nd Bomb Wing headquarters and the taxiway during a practice flight for an In-Flight Refueling Demonstration planned for later that month.
- 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.
- As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base.
- In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".