Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Maseru, Lesotho:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), Maseru, Lesotho would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,320 miles (or 16,608 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 Moshoeshoe I 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 Moshoeshoe I 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):

• In 1997, the United States purchased 21 Moldovan aircraft for evaluation and analysis, under the Cooperative Threat Reduction accord.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of 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 primary access to the facility is off of U.S.
• Tonopah Test Range Airport, at the Tonopah Test Range is 27 NM southeast of Tonopah, Nevada and 140 mi northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
• None of the Soviet-designed aircraft at Tonopah flew in bad weather or at night.

Facts about Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU):

• Because of Moshoeshoe I International Airport's high elevation of 5,348 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MSU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MSU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,801 miles (18,991 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) is Mafeteng Airport (MFC), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SW of MSU.