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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR), Vatry, France and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,450 miles (or 8,771 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 Châlons Vatry 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 Châlons Vatry 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 Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR):

• Because of Châlons Vatry Airport's relatively low elevation of 586 feet, planes can take off or land at Châlons Vatry 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 Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Châlons Vatry Airport (meaning Châlons Vatry Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,092 miles (19,461 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR) is Troyes - Barberey Airport (QYR), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) SSW of XCR.
• Construction began in 1953, and Vatry Air Base was designed for 50 fighters with three large hangars constructed.
• Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 16 August 1966, Iraqi Air Force Captain Munir Redfa took off from Rasheed Air Base, near Baghdad on a routine navigation training flight.
• In addition, unconfirmed Soviet aircraft flown were MiG-25 Foxbat.
• 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.