Nonstop flight route between Vientiane, Laos and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wattay International Airport (VTE), Vientiane, Laos and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,813 miles (or 12,574 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 Wattay 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 Wattay 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 Wattay International Airport (VTE):

• The closest airport to Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Udon Thani International Airport ท่าอากาศยานอุดรธานี (UTH), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SSE of VTE.
• Access to airport by taxi, car and tuk-tuk.
• Because of Wattay International Airport's relatively low elevation of 564 feet, planes can take off or land at Wattay 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 Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Maria Reiche Neuman Airport (NZC), which is nearly antipodal to Wattay International Airport (meaning Wattay International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maria Reiche Neuman Airport), and is located 12,165 miles (19,578 kilometers) away in Nazca, Ica Region, Peru.
• In addition to being known as "Wattay International Airport", other names for VTE include "ສະໜາມບິນສາກົນວັດໄຕ" and "สนามบินนานาชาติวัตไต".
• Wattay International Airport (VTE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is in Sikhodtabong District in Vientiane.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• The MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.
• In 1980 the 4477th TEF was re-designated as the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the operation was renamed again to Constant Peg.
• It is known that the USAF continues a Foreign Materiel Acquisition/Exploitation program, although the extent of acquisitions and operations of that program is not available.
• Tonopah Test Range Airport, at the Tonopah Test Range is 27 NM southeast of Tonopah, Nevada and 140 mi northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
• 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.
• On 12 August 1968, the IDF obtained two Syrian Air Force MiG-17F fighters that had gotten lost during a training flight and landed inadvertently at Besert Landing Field, Israel.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• All the models had quirks.
• 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.