Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Point Lay, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ), Point Lay, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,775 miles (or 4,466 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 Point Lay LRRS 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 Point Lay LRRS 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.
• 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.
• In addition, unconfirmed Soviet aircraft flown were MiG-25 Foxbat.
• In 1997, the United States purchased 21 Moldovan aircraft for evaluation and analysis, under the Cooperative Threat Reduction accord.
• None of the Soviet-designed aircraft at Tonopah flew in bad weather or at night.
• Tonopah Test Range Airport, at the Tonopah Test Range is 27 NM southeast of Tonopah, Nevada and 140 mi northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
• 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.

Facts about Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ):

• Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The LRR site was inactivated in 1989 due to soil erosion & budget concerns.
• The closest airport to Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) is Wainwright Airport (AIN), which is located 94 miles (152 kilometers) NE of PIZ.
• The furthest airport from Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,387 miles (16,716 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• Point Lay LRRS Airport is a public and military use airport owned by the United States Government and located in Point Lay, in the North Slope Borough of the U.S.
• Because of Point Lay LRRS Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Point Lay LRRS 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.