Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, California, United States and Tortuguero, Costa Rica:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SMX to TTQ:
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- About this route
- SMX Airport Information
- TTQ Airport Information
- Facts about SMX
- Facts about TTQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
- List of Nearest Airports to SMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMX
- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to TTQ
- List of Nearest Airports to TTQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from TTQ
- List of Furthest Airports from TTQ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States and Tortuguero Airport (TTQ), Tortuguero, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,865 miles (or 4,611 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 Santa Maria Public Airport and Tortuguero 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 Santa Maria Public Airport and Tortuguero Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TTQ / MRAO |
Airport Name: | Tortuguero Airport |
Location: | Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
GPS Coordinates: | 10°34'8"N by 83°30'52"W |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 82 feet (25 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TTQ |
More Information: | TTQ Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- At one point during the early 1980's Swift Aire Lines, which was based at the nearby San Luis Obispo Airport, was the only airline flying nonstop between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, primarily with Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops which the carrier had purchased new from the manufacturer.
- The extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
- Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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.
- A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
Facts about Tortuguero Airport (TTQ):
- Tortuguero Airport (TTQ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Tortuguero Airport (TTQ) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Tortuguero Airport (meaning Tortuguero Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,322 miles (19,831 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- Because of Tortuguero Airport's relatively low elevation of 82 feet, planes can take off or land at Tortuguero 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 closest airport to Tortuguero Airport (TTQ) is Barra del Colorado Airport (BCL), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NNW of TTQ.