Nonstop flight route between St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom and Makemo, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Leuchars (ADX), St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom and Makemo Airport (MKP), Makemo, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,014 miles (or 14,507 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 RAF Leuchars and Makemo 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 RAF Leuchars and Makemo 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 RAF Leuchars (ADX):

• In 1954 the fixed wing aircraft had been joined by a flight of Bristol Sycamore helicopters for Search and Rescue duties.
• Like so many RAF stations, the airfield itself owes its existence to the stimulus of war, and work began on levelling the existing site on Reres Farm in 1916.
• The closest airport to RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Dundee Airport (DND), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NW of ADX.
• During Second World War, British Overseas Airways Corporation formed in November 1939 from Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd operated a wartime route from RAF Leuchars to Stockholm.
• The other operational UK air defence base since June 2007 is RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, which operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4.
• The Phantoms of 43 Squadron and 111 Squadron were replaced by Tornado F3s during 1989-1990s.
• The furthest airport from RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,678 miles (18,793 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• As the Cold War reached its frostiest depths in the 1960s the development of long range aircraft allowed the Soviets regular incursion into British air space.

Facts about Makemo Airport (MKP):

• The furthest airport from Makemo Airport (MKP) is Kassala Airport (KSL), which is nearly antipodal to Makemo Airport (meaning Makemo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kassala Airport), and is located 12,354 miles (19,882 kilometers) away in Kassala, Sudan.
• Because of Makemo Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Makemo 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 Makemo Airport (MKP) is Raroia Airport (RRR), which is located 87 miles (139 kilometers) ENE of MKP.