Nonstop flight route between Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VAD to SMX:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- VAD Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about VAD
- Facts about SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to VAD
- List of Nearest Airports to VAD
- Map of Furthest Airports from VAD
- List of Furthest Airports from VAD
- 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 Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,166 miles (or 3,485 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 Moody Air Force Base and Santa Maria Public Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VAD / KVAD |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Valdosta, Georgia, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 30°58'4"N by 83°11'34"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from VAD |
| More Information: | VAD 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 Moody Air Force Base (VAD):
- Originally named Valdosta Airfield when it opened on 15 September 1941, the airfield was renamed Moody Army Airfield on 6 December 1941 in honor of Major George Putnam Moody, an early Air Force pioneer.
- The 93d Air Ground Operations Wing is a non-flying active support wing activated on 25 January 2008.
- With the arrival of the TF-102 Delta Dagger in Air Defense Command in 1960, Moody ended interceptor pilot and crew training and became one of ATC's new undergraduate pilot training schools.
- The furthest airport from Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Kalbarri Airport (KAX), which is located 11,363 miles (18,286 kilometers) away in Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia.
- On 1 December 1975, the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, a unit of the Tactical Air Command, relocated to Moody from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand.
- Under the Southeast Training Center, Moody AAF controlled several auxiliary airfields
- In addition to being known as "Moody Air Force Base", another name for VAD is "Moody AFB".
- The closest airport to Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Valdosta Regional AirportValdosta Army Auxiliary Airfield (VLD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) SSW of VAD.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- At one point during the early 1980's Swift Aire Lines, which was based at the nearby San Luis Obispo Airport, was the only airline flying nonstop between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, primarily with Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops which the carrier had purchased new from the manufacturer.
- 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.
- 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.
