Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Kirkwall Airport (KOI), Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,760 miles (or 7,660 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 Kirkwall 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 Kirkwall 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 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 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 earliest known depiction of the airfield was on the July 1970 Air Force Tactical Pilotage Chart.
• Contrary to what some in the major media have reported, not all the jets found at captured Iraqi Air Force bases were from the Gulf War era.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• 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 MiG-21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam.

Facts about Kirkwall Airport (KOI):

• Kirkwall Airport (KOI) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Kirkwall Airport (KOI) is Stronsay Airport (SOY), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NE of KOI.
• The furthest airport from Kirkwall Airport (KOI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,525 miles (18,548 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Kirkwall Airport handled 145,897 passengers last year.
• Because of Kirkwall Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirkwall 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.