Nonstop flight route between Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tresco Heliport (TSO), Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,048 miles (or 8,123 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 Tresco Heliport and Tonopah Test Range 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 Tresco Heliport and Tonopah Test Range 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 Tresco Heliport (TSO):

• On summer weekdays the heliport received up to six flights a day from Penzance Heliport on the mainland, declining to two services a day in winter.
• Tresco Heliport had a CAA Ordinary Licence that allowed flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee.
• The furthest airport from Tresco Heliport (TSO) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Tresco Heliport (meaning Tresco Heliport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,116 miles (19,499 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Tresco Heliport (TSO) is St Mary's Airport (ISC), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SE of TSO.
• Because of Tresco Heliport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Tresco 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.
• Tresco Heliport was opened by John King, Baron King of Wartnaby, Chairman of British Airways, on 26 April 1983.
• Tresco Heliport was a heliport located on the island of Tresco, in the Isles of Scilly off the southwest coast of England, UK.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• It is known that the USAF continues a Foreign Materiel Acquisition/Exploitation program, although the extent of acquisitions and operations of that program is not available.
• The furthest airport from Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,207 miles (18,036 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• The Tonopah Test Range airfield came into existence in 1957 and was used by the Department of Energy, the Air Force, and several contractors.
• What was learned during these projects prompted the US Navy to commence Top Gun exercises first at NAS Miramar, California and then NAS Fallon, Nevada.
• The earliest known depiction of the airfield was on the July 1970 Air Force Tactical Pilotage Chart.
• In May 1973, when Project HAVE IDEA was initiated for joint technical and tactical evaluation of Soviet aircraft types, the tactical evaluation flights of foreign aircraft were undertaken by Detachment 1, 57th Fighter Weapons Wing.