Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and McGuire AFB (WRI), Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,646 miles (or 4,259 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 McGuire AFB, 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 McGuire AFB. 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.
• Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
• Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• It was built in the context of the Second World War, by US troops in order to maintain supply lines to Europe, and inaugurated on 26 July 1945.
• 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 McGuire AFB (WRI):

• SAC activated the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at the newly re-designated McGuire Air Force Base on 10 November 1948.
• The closest airport to McGuire AFB (WRI) is JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) E of WRI.
• In addition to being known as "McGuire AFB", another name for WRI is "McGuire AFB/JB MDL McGuire".
• In 1959, Air Defense Command deployed the CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile to McGuire AFB.
• McGuire AFB/McGuire, the common name of the McGuire unit of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Air Force base located in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, approximately 16.1 miles south-southeast of Trenton.
• The furthest airport from McGuire AFB (WRI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,757 miles (18,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In late 1942, Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command took up tenant status at Fort Dix AAB.
• Flight operations to support Camp Dix at an adjacent airfield took place as early as 1926.