Nonstop flight route between West Wyalong, New South Wales, Australia and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between West Wyalong Airport (WWY), West Wyalong, New South Wales, Australia and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,895 miles (or 12,706 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 West Wyalong 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 West Wyalong 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 West Wyalong Airport (WWY):

• Currently West Wyalong is not serviced by any scheduled flights, but throughout the airport's history it has been served by many regional airlines.
• The furthest airport from West Wyalong Airport (WWY) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is nearly antipodal to West Wyalong Airport (meaning West Wyalong Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Horta International Airport), and is located 12,047 miles (19,387 kilometers) away in Horta, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of West Wyalong Airport's relatively low elevation of 859 feet, planes can take off or land at West Wyalong 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 West Wyalong Airport (WWY) is Forbes Airport (FRB), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NE of WWY.
• A number of smaller carriers would later service the West Wyalong - Sydney route, including Country Connection Airlines who provided 11 services per week between 1991 and 2001 using Piper Chieftain aircraft.
• Regional Express Airlines provided twice weekly service to Sydney commencing in March 2005.
• West Wyalong Airport (WWY) has 2 runways.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• On 16 August 1966, Iraqi Air Force Captain Munir Redfa took off from Rasheed Air Base, near Baghdad on a routine navigation training flight.
• In 2006, the Constant Peg program was declassified and the USAF held a series of press conferences about the former top secret US MiGs.
• 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 assets of the squadron could not go to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, and the fate of them remains in some cases, still classified.
• In the 1980s, Tonopah Airport became a major operating location for the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk.