Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SMX to WRI:
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- About this route
- SMX Airport Information
- WRI Airport Information
- Facts about SMX
- Facts about WRI
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to WRI
- List of Nearest Airports to WRI
- Map of Furthest Airports from WRI
- List of Furthest Airports from WRI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and McGuire AFB (WRI), Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,512 miles (or 4,043 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 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 Public Airport and McGuire AFB. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
| Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
| Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
| More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WRI / KWRI |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°0'56"N by 74°35'30"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from WRI |
| More Information: | WRI Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- At one point during the early 1980's Swift Aire Lines, which was based at the nearby San Luis Obispo Airport, was the only airline flying nonstop between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, primarily with Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops which the carrier had purchased new from the manufacturer.
- The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- The first airline to serve Santa Maria was Southwest Airways operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft.
- A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
- 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.
- Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
- 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.
Facts about McGuire AFB (WRI):
- Fort Dix Army Air Base was phased down in the fall of 1945 and was placed on Temporary Inactive Status on 15 February 1945.
- The Twin Mustangs of the 52d FW were replaced by the ADC 4709th Defense Wing on 1 February 1952.
- 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.
- Fort Dix Army Air Base was taken out of inactive status and activated as a primary installation on 29 August 1948.
- The closest airport to McGuire AFB (WRI) is JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) E of WRI.
- Flight operations to support Camp Dix at an adjacent airfield took place as early as 1926.
- MATS activities at the base began on 1 July 1954 with the 1611th Air Transport Wing being activated.
- McGuire Air Force Base was established as Fort Dix Airport in 1937 and first opened to military aircraft on 9 January 1941.
- These squadrons flew a variety of ADC interceptors in the 1950s, starting with the F-94 Starfire in 1952, upgrading to the F-84 Thunderjet in 1953, and finally the interceptor F-86D Sabre later in 1953.
- In addition to being known as "McGuire AFB", another name for WRI is "McGuire AFB/JB MDL McGuire".
