Nonstop flight route between Balakovo, Saratov Oblast, Russia and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Balakovo Airport (BWO), Balakovo, Saratov Oblast, Russia and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,173 miles (or 9,934 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 Balakovo Airport and Tonopah Test Range 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 Balakovo Airport and Tonopah Test Range 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 Balakovo Airport (BWO):

• Because of Balakovo Airport's relatively low elevation of 95 feet, planes can take off or land at Balakovo 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.
• The furthest airport from Balakovo Airport (BWO) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 10,444 miles (16,809 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Balakovo Airport (BWO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Balakovo Airport (BWO) is Tsentralny Airport (RTW), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) WSW of BWO.
• In addition to being known as "Balakovo Airport", another name for BWO is "Аэропорт Балаково".

Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• 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 closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of 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.
• In addition, unconfirmed Soviet aircraft flown were MiG-25 Foxbat.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• After the 4477th TES was inactivated, the remaining assets were reconstituted as a detachment of the 57th Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB.