Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Orléans, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE), Orléans, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,693 miles (or 9,161 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 Public Airport and Orléans - Bricy Air 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 Public Airport and Orléans - Bricy Air Base. 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 Public Airport (SMX):

• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
• Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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 original Allan Hancock Field was established in 1927 at another location, between Jones Street to the north, Stowell Road to the south, Bradley Road to the east and Miller Street to the west.
• During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE):

• It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 22 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• The closest airport to Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE) is Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) NNW of ORE.
• In addition to being known as "Orléans - Bricy Air Base", other names for ORE include "Base aérienne 123", "« Commandant Charles Paoli »" and "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-50".
• The furthest airport from Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Orléans - Bricy Air Base (meaning Orléans - Bricy Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,136 miles (19,531 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Orléans - Bricy Air Base's relatively low elevation of 314 feet, planes can take off or land at Orléans - Bricy Air Base 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.