Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM), Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,587 miles (or 15,428 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 Lubumbashi International 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 Lubumbashi International 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 advent of Operation Rolling Thunder during the Vietnam War in March of 1965 led to the introduction of the obsolete and subsonic MiG-17 and the supersonic MiG-21 by the North Vietnamese Air Force being pitted against U.S.
• Pakistan was the first and largest customer of the J-6 receiving nearly 300 aircraft, mostly of the J-6C variety.
• After the 4477th TES was inactivated, the remaining assets were reconstituted as a detachment of the 57th Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB.
• 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.
• In 1980 the 4477th TEF was re-designated as the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the operation was renamed again to Constant Peg.
• 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.
• 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 earliest known depiction of the airfield was on the July 1970 Air Force Tactical Pilotage Chart.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.

Facts about Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM):

• This airport played a high-profile role during the Katanga war.
• Because of Lubumbashi International Airport's high elevation of 4,295 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at FBM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make FBM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,850 miles (19,070 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM) is Kasompe Airport (CGJ), which is located 72 miles (116 kilometers) SSE of FBM.