Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Ellensburg, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Bowers Field (ELN), Ellensburg, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 666 miles (or 1,072 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 relatively short distance between Tonopah Test Range Airport and Bowers Field, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• Pakistan was the first and largest customer of the J-6 receiving nearly 300 aircraft, mostly of the J-6C variety.
• In 1997, the United States purchased 21 Moldovan aircraft for evaluation and analysis, under the Cooperative Threat Reduction accord.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• What was learned during these projects prompted the US Navy to commence Top Gun exercises first at NAS Miramar, California and then NAS Fallon, Nevada.

Facts about Bowers Field (ELN):

• Bowers Field is named in honor of Ensign Keith Bowers, the first man from Kittitas County killed in World War II.
• Today, large numbers of former aircraft dispersal areas are still maintained, along with an extensive system of taxiways with what appear to be modern aircraft shelters.
• The furthest airport from Bowers Field (ELN) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,769 miles (17,331 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Bowers Field (ELN) is Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) S of ELN.
• Bowers Field (ELN) has 2 runways.
• Military use ended in February 1945, and the airfield was turned over to War Assets Administration for subsequent transfer to Kittitas County for development into a civil airport.
• In addition to being known as "Bowers Field", another name for ELN is "(former Ellensburg Army Airfield)".