Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Taos, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Taos Regional Airport (TSM), Taos, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 618 miles (or 995 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 relatively short distance between Tonopah Test Range Airport and Taos Regional Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In the summer of 1979, Tonopah Test Range Airport was selected to be the home of the Tactical Air Command 4450th Tactical Group.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• What was learned during these projects prompted the US Navy to commence Top Gun exercises first at NAS Miramar, California and then NAS Fallon, Nevada.
• The earliest known depiction of the airfield was on the July 1970 Air Force Tactical Pilotage Chart.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Taos Regional Airport (TSM):

• In addition to being known as "Taos Regional Airport", another name for TSM is "SKX".
• The closest airport to Taos Regional Airport (TSM) is Ohkay Owingeh Airport (ESO), which is located 36 miles (59 kilometers) SW of TSM.
• Taos Regional Airport covers an area of 832 acres at an elevation of 7,095 feet above mean sea level.
• Taos Regional Airport (TSM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Taos Regional Airport's high elevation of 7,095 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TSM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TSM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Taos Regional Airport (TSM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,106 miles (17,873 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.