Nonstop flight route between South Lake Tahoe, California, United States and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from TVL to XSD:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- TVL Airport Information
- XSD Airport Information
- Facts about TVL
- Facts about XSD
- Map of Nearest Airports to TVL
- List of Nearest Airports to TVL
- Map of Furthest Airports from TVL
- List of Furthest Airports from TVL
- Map of Nearest Airports to XSD
- List of Nearest Airports to XSD
- Map of Furthest Airports from XSD
- List of Furthest Airports from XSD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL), South Lake Tahoe, California, United States and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 190 miles (or 306 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 relatively short distance between Lake Tahoe Airport and Tonopah Test Range Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TVL / KTVL |
Airport Name: | Lake Tahoe Airport |
Location: | South Lake Tahoe, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°53'38"N by 119°59'43"W |
Operator/Owner: | The City of South Lake Tahoe |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6264 feet (1,909 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TVL |
More Information: | TVL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | XSD / KTNX |
Airport Name: | Tonopah Test Range Airport |
Location: | Tonopah, Nevada, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°47'40"N by 116°46'42"W |
View all routes: | Routes from XSD |
More Information: | XSD Maps & Info |
Facts about Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL):
- The closest airport to Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of TVL.
- Airlines in bold flew jets to Lake Tahoe.
- Lake Tahoe Airport is a public airport three miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, in El Dorado County, California.
- Because of Lake Tahoe Airport's high elevation of 6,264 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TVL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TVL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The ban on airline jets then ended, and jet flights resumed in 1983 on AirCal McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and later Boeing 737-300s.
- Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,214 miles (18,048 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):
- The Tonopah Range Airport first opened in 1957, supporting operations on the Test Range itself, which was used for United States Atomic Energy Commission ) funded weapon programs.
- 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.
- In 1997, the United States purchased 21 Moldovan aircraft for evaluation and analysis, under the Cooperative Threat Reduction accord.
- Tonopah is owned by the USAF Air Combat Command.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 1980 the 4477th TEF was re-designated as the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the operation was renamed again to Constant Peg.
- The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
- Near the end of the Cold War the program was abandoned and the squadron was disbanded.