Nonstop flight route between Vannes, France and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Meucon Airport (VNE), Vannes, France and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,272 miles (or 8,485 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 large distance between Meucon 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 Meucon 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 Meucon Airport (VNE):

• Seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the Battle of France, Meucon airport was used as a Luftwaffe military airfield during the occupation.
• Because of Meucon Airport's relatively low elevation of 440 feet, planes can take off or land at Meucon 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 closest airport to Meucon Airport (VNE) is Lorient South Brittany Airport (LRT), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) W of VNE.
• The furthest airport from Meucon Airport (VNE) is Oamaru Airport (OAM), which is nearly antipodal to Meucon Airport (meaning Meucon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Oamaru Airport), and is located 12,086 miles (19,450 kilometers) away in Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand.
• The airport was returned to French civil control after the war ended on 20 June 1945.
• Meucon Airport (VNE) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Meucon Airport", another name for VNE is "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-33".
• The airport was liberated by Allied ground forces about 10 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• The advent of Operation Rolling Thunder during the Vietnam War in March of 1965 led to the introduction of the obsolete and subsonic MiG-17 and the supersonic MiG-21 by the North Vietnamese Air Force being pitted against U.S.
• On 16 August 1966, Iraqi Air Force Captain Munir Redfa took off from Rasheed Air Base, near Baghdad on a routine navigation training flight.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• In the 1980s, Tonopah Airport became a major operating location for the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk.
• 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.
• 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.
• Several locations were considered, Michael Army Airfield at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah, and the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field on the Goldwater Range in Arizona.