Nonstop flight route between Wales, Alaska, United States and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WAA to SMX:
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- About this route
- WAA Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about WAA
- Facts about SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to WAA
- List of Nearest Airports to WAA
- Map of Furthest Airports from WAA
- List of Furthest Airports from WAA
- 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 Wales Airport (WAA), Wales, Alaska, United States and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,866 miles (or 4,612 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 Wales Airport 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 Wales Airport 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: | WAA / PAIW |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Wales, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 65°37'21"N by 168°5'41"W |
| Area Served: | Wales, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 22 feet (7 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WAA |
| More Information: | WAA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
| Airport Names: |
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| 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 Wales Airport (WAA):
- Because of Wales Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Wales 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.
- Wales Airport (WAA) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Wales Airport", another name for WAA is "IWK".
- The furthest airport from Wales Airport (WAA) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,385 miles (16,713 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- The closest airport to Wales Airport (WAA) is Tin City LRRS Airport (TNC), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SE of WAA.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
- 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.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- 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.
- 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.
