Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Panama City, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Tyndall Air Force Base (PAM), Panama City, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,331 miles (or 5,360 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 Lajes Air Base and Tyndall 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 Lajes Air Base and Tyndall Air Force 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 Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Another important Cold War operation at Lajes was the U.S.
• Because of Lajes Air Base's relatively low elevation of 180 feet, planes can take off or land at Lajes 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.
• In 1947, the Portuguese Esquadra 41 started to operate from Lajes, equipped with Boeing SB-17, Grumman HU-16 Albatross, Douglas C-54 Skymaster and, later Sikorsky H-19.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• The furthest airport from Lajes Air Base (TER) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Lajes Air Base (meaning Lajes Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,229 miles (19,680 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• In 2009 Lajes provided rescue support of shipping lanes across the Atlantic, a safe haven for medical or mechanical emergency situations in aircraft crossing the Atlantic, and support for the USAF's continuing campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• In the summer of 1984, Lajes undertook a new mission known as "SILK PURSE." Boeing EC-135s began operating out of Lajes Field as an airborne command post for the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Lajes Air Base", other names for TER include "Base Aérea das Lajes", "Base Aérea Nº 4" and "Aeroporto das Lajes".
• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• Lajes provides support to 15,000 aircraft, including fighters from the US and 20 other allied nations each.

Facts about Tyndall Air Force Base (PAM):

• Although construction was well underway, the base lacked a name.
• On 1 July 1956 Tyndall AFB became the station operating for the third phase of the ADC mobile radar program, being designated as TM-198.
• The closest airport to Tyndall Air Force Base (PAM) is Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of PAM.
• In September 1957, Tyndall became an Air Defense Command, later Aerospace Defense Command, base until October 1979 when ADC was inactivated and all its bases and units transferred to Tactical Air Command.
• The height-finder radar, modified as an AN/FPS-116 c.
• The furthest airport from Tyndall Air Force Base (PAM) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,235 miles (18,080 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• From 1983 until 2010, training for F-15C/D Eagle pilots was performed at Tyndall AFB by the now inactive 1st, 2nd, and 95th Fighter Squadrons.
• Additionally, all of the Air Force's Air Battle Managers are initially trained at Tyndall prior to proceeding to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma for actual positional training in the E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft.