Nonstop flight route between Napier, New Zealand and Knob Noster, Missouri, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE), Napier, New Zealand and Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,819 miles (or 12,583 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 Hawke's Bay Airport and Whiteman Air Force Base, 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 Hawke's Bay Airport and Whiteman Air Force Base. 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 Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE):

• The second floor has a small glass-fenced open air deck, where arriving and departing aircraft can be viewed.
• Hawke's Bay Airport handled 451,128 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) is Taupo AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Taupō (TUO), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) NW of NPE.
• Because of Hawke's Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Hawke's Bay 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 Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) is Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM), which is nearly antipodal to Hawke's Bay Airport (meaning Hawke's Bay Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ciudad Real Central Airport), and is located 12,375 miles (19,916 kilometers) away in Ciudad Real, Spain.
• Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) has 3 runways.

Facts about Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL):

• The host unit at Whiteman AFB is the 509th Bomb Wing, assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
• In addition, the wing boasts the 442nd Medical Squadron, as well as a wing staff.
• The furthest airport from Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,815 miles (17,405 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 2 miles south of Knob Noster, Missouri.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.
• After the mission change in 1963, life on Whiteman remained relatively stable throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
• The 476th Fighter Group, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, is an Air Force Reserve Command unit linked to the 23rd Fighter Group at Moody.
• In May 1942, construction workers descended upon an area known to locals as the "Blue Flats" because of the color of the soil and began building a railroad spur for the new air base.