Nonstop flight route between Butterworth, South Africa and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from UTE to SMX:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- UTE Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about UTE
- Facts about SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to UTE
- List of Nearest Airports to UTE
- Map of Furthest Airports from UTE
- List of Furthest Airports from UTE
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RMAF Butterworth (UTE), Butterworth, South Africa and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,586 miles (or 13,818 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 RMAF Butterworth 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 RMAF Butterworth 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | UTE / FABU |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Butterworth, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 5°27'57"N by 100°23'27"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence (Malaysia) |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 8 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from UTE |
More Information: | UTE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
Airport Names: |
|
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 |
Facts about RMAF Butterworth (UTE):
- In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", other names for UTE include "TUDM Butterworth", "BWH" and "WMKB".
- In 1957, the RAF closed the station and it was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force and it was promptly renamed as RAAF Station Butterworth, becoming the home to numerous Australian fighter and bomber squadrons stationed in Malaya during the Cold War era.
- The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to RMAF Butterworth (meaning RMAF Butterworth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
- RMAF Butterworth (UTE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of RMAF Butterworth's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at RMAF Butterworth 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 closest airport to RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is RMAF Butterworth (BWH), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of UTE.
- As of October 2008, the Australian Defence Force continues to maintain a presence at RMAF Butterworth as part of Australia's commitment to the Five Power Defence Arrangements, with No.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- 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.
- 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.
- Besides the current Allegiant jet service, SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express via a code sharing agreement with United Airlines flies Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops and sometimes Bombardier CRJ-200 Regional Jet nonstop to Los Angeles that served the airport for many years.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- 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.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- 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.