Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,498 miles (or 5,629 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 Johnston Atoll 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 Johnston Atoll 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):

• None of the Soviet-designed aircraft at Tonopah flew in bad weather or at night.
• The primary access to the facility is off of U.S.
• 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.
• Near the end of the Cold War the program was abandoned and the squadron was disbanded.
• 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 Tonopah Test Range airfield came into existence in 1957 and was used by the Department of Energy, the Air Force, and several contractors.
• 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 closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• Pakistan was the first and largest customer of the J-6 receiving nearly 300 aircraft, mostly of the J-6C variety.
• The MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.

Facts about Johnston Atoll Airport (JON):

• The closest airport to Johnston Atoll Airport (JON) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is located 733 miles (1,179 kilometers) ENE of JON.
• Johnston Atoll Airport (JON) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Johnston Atoll Airport (JON) is Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD), which is nearly antipodal to Johnston Atoll Airport (meaning Johnston Atoll Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lubango Mukanka Airport), and is located 12,195 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Lubango, Angola.
• Because of Johnston Atoll Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Johnston Atoll 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.
• In September 1941 construction of an airfield on Johnston Island commenced.