Nonstop flight route between Sheffield, England, United Kingdom and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheffield City Heliport (SZD), Sheffield, England, United Kingdom and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,334 miles (or 8,583 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 Sheffield City Heliport and Santa Maria Public Airport, 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 Sheffield City Heliport and Santa Maria Public Airport. 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 Sheffield City Heliport (SZD):

• Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was built, after a consultants report, on a short-runway STOLPORT model similar to London City Airport.
• The furthest airport from Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,799 miles (18,989 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) is Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield (DSA), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of SZD.
• Because of Sheffield City Heliport's relatively low elevation of 231 feet, planes can take off or land at Sheffield City Heliport 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.
• Passenger figures ranged from 46,000 in 1998, 75,000 in 1999, 60,000 in 2000, 33,000 in 2001 and 13,000 in the airports final year of operation.
• The airport was built as part of a plan by the Sheffield Development Corporation to regenerate a very rundown old industrial area and to reclaim the land, which had previously been mined and was the site of derelict steelworks and waste tips.

Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• 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 extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• 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 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.
• After the war Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
• 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.