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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), Ballina, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,389 miles (or 11,892 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 Tonopah Test Range Airport and Ballina Byron Gateway 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 Tonopah Test Range Airport and Ballina Byron Gateway 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 Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• The Tonopah Range Airport first opened in 1957, supporting operations on the Test Range itself, which was used for United States Atomic Energy Commission ) funded weapon programs.
• In 1980 the 4477th TEF was re-designated as the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the operation was renamed again to Constant Peg.
• 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 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 summer of 1979, Tonopah Test Range Airport was selected to be the home of the Tactical Air Command 4450th Tactical Group.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of 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.
• In 2006, the Constant Peg program was declassified and the USAF held a series of press conferences about the former top secret US MiGs.
• The primary access to the facility is off of U.S.

Facts about Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK):

• The furthest airport from Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,911 miles (19,168 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• The closest airport to Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) is Lismore Airport (LSY), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) W of BNK.
• Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2005 Ballina Airport was renamed Ballina Byron Gateway Airport in a bid to attract more people to the area.
• Ballina Byron Gateway Airport handled 291,322 passengers last year.
• Because of Ballina Byron Gateway Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Ballina Byron Gateway 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.