Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,074 miles (or 9,775 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 Governador Carlos Wilson 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 Governador Carlos Wilson 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):

• Near the end of the Cold War the program was abandoned and the squadron was disbanded.
• 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.
• In addition, unconfirmed Soviet aircraft flown were MiG-25 Foxbat.
• The MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.
• 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.
• 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 the 1980s, Tonopah Airport became a major operating location for the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk.
• 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.

Facts about Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN):

• The closest airport to Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN) is Augusto Severo International Airport (NAT), which is located 240 miles (387 kilometers) SW of FEN.
• The furthest airport from Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN) is Chuuk International Airport (TKK), which is nearly antipodal to Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (meaning Governador Carlos Wilson Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chuuk International Airport), and is located 12,052 miles (19,395 kilometers) away in Weno, Federated States of Micronesia.
• Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Governador Carlos Wilson Airport", another name for FEN is "Aeroporto Governador Carlos Wilson".
• In 1975 another extension of the runway was made, allowing the operations of aircraft up to the class of a Boeing 737.
• The first runway was built in 1934.
• Following the disappearance of Air France Flight 447 on June 1, 2009, the airport became a base for search and rescue operations.
• Because of Governador Carlos Wilson Airport's relatively low elevation of 190 feet, planes can take off or land at Governador Carlos Wilson 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.