Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Ponce, Puerto Rico:
Departure Airport:
![Get maps and more information about Tonopah Test Range Airport Get airport maps and more information about Tonopah Test Range Airport](images/takeoff-icon.gif)
Arrival Airport:
![Get maps and more information about Mercedita Airport Get airport maps and more information about Mercedita Airport](images/landing-icon.gif)
Distance from XSD to PSE:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- XSD Airport Information
- PSE Airport Information
- Facts about XSD
- Facts about PSE
- Map of Nearest Airports to XSD
- List of Nearest Airports to XSD
- Map of Furthest Airports from XSD
- List of Furthest Airports from XSD
- Map of Nearest Airports to PSE
- List of Nearest Airports to PSE
- Map of Furthest Airports from PSE
- List of Furthest Airports from PSE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Mercedita Airport (PSE), Ponce, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,310 miles (or 5,327 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 Mercedita 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 Mercedita Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | XSD / KTNX |
Airport Name: | Tonopah Test Range Airport |
Location: | Tonopah, Nevada, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°47'40"N by 116°46'42"W |
View all routes: | Routes from XSD |
More Information: | XSD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PSE / TJPS |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
GPS Coordinates: | 18°0'29"N by 66°33'47"W |
Area Served: | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
Operator/Owner: | Puerto Rico Ports Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 29 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PSE |
More Information: | PSE Maps & Info |
Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):
- On 16 August 1966, Iraqi Air Force Captain Munir Redfa took off from Rasheed Air Base, near Baghdad on a routine navigation training flight.
- None of the Soviet-designed aircraft at Tonopah flew in bad weather or at night.
- 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 addition, unconfirmed Soviet aircraft flown were MiG-25 Foxbat.
- 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 closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
- 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.
- 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 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.
Facts about Mercedita Airport (PSE):
- In addition to being known as "Mercedita Airport", other names for PSE include "Aeropuerto Mercedita" and "18.00'30"N, 66.33'47"W".
- Mercedita Airport (PSE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ARE), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) NNW of PSE.
- Passenger movement at the airport in FY 2008 was 278,911, a 1,228% increase over fiscal year 2003 and the highest of all the regional airports for that 5-year period.
- The first scheduled commercial flights at Mercedita occurred in 1965 when domestic flights started.
- The takeoff/landing strip was then only 850 feet long by 50 feet wide.
- The Puerto Rico Ports Authority recently announced an investment of 7 million dollars to extend Mercedita's runway to 8,000 feet.
- The furthest airport from Mercedita Airport (PSE) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Mercedita Airport (meaning Mercedita Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,201 miles (19,636 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Mercedita Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Mercedita 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.