Nonstop flight route between Port Vila, Vanuatu and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bauerfield International Airport (VLI), Port Vila, Vanuatu and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,180 miles (or 9,945 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 Bauerfield International Airport 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 Bauerfield International Airport 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 Bauerfield International Airport (VLI):

• In addition to being known as "Bauerfield International Airport", another name for VLI is "Port Vila International Airport".
• On 25 March 1942, the Army sent about 500 men to Efate from Nouméa, and the 4th Defense Battalion, 45th Marines, arrived on 8 April.
• The closest airport to Bauerfield International Airport (VLI) is Siwo Airport (EAE), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) N of VLI.
• The base was disestablished and abandoned in February 1946.
• Because of Bauerfield International Airport's relatively low elevation of 68 feet, planes can take off or land at Bauerfield International 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.
• The furthest airport from Bauerfield International Airport (VLI) is Letfotar Airport (MOM), which is nearly antipodal to Bauerfield International Airport (meaning Bauerfield International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Letfotar Airport), and is located 12,383 miles (19,928 kilometers) away in Moudjeria, Mauritania.
• Bauerfield International Airport (VLI) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• 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.
• The primary access to the facility is off of U.S.
• The MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.
• Foreign military sales of United States fighter aircraft to Indonesia and Egypt in the mid-1970s to replace the Soviet fighter aircraft allowed these nations to clandestinely transfer un-needed MiG-21 ultra modern MiG-23s aircraft to the United States for evaluation.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• 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.
• 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.
• All the models had quirks.
• In the 1980s, Tonopah Airport became a major operating location for the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk.