Nonstop flight route between Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States and Beijing, People's Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between United States Air Force Academy (AFF), Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,380 miles (or 10,267 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 United States Air Force Academy and Beijing Capital International 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 United States Air Force Academy and Beijing Capital International 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 United States Air Force Academy (AFF):

• Support for an air academy got a boost with the National Security Act of 1947, which provided for the establishment of a separate Air Force within the United States military.
• The student body of the Academy is known as the Cadet Wing.
• The Cadet Area also contains extensive facilities for use by cadets participating in intercollegiate athletics, intramural athletics, physical education classes and other physical training.
• The closest airport to United States Air Force Academy (AFF) is City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of AFF.
• Other locations on campus serve support roles for cadet training and other base functions.
• Many Academy graduates of this era served with distinction in the Vietnam War.
• The furthest airport from United States Air Force Academy (AFF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,934 miles (17,596 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The campus of the Academy covers 18,500 acres on the east side of the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains, just north of Colorado Springs.

Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• Terminal 3 has a 300,000 m2 transportation centre with 7,000 car-parking space.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Terminal 2 opened on 1 November 1999, with a floor area of 336,000 m2.
• Because of Beijing Capital International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Beijing Capital International 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.
• Terminal 3 has 243 elevators, escalators or moving walkways.
• The airport has three terminals.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• To accommodate the growing traffic volume, Beijing Capital added the enormous Terminal 3 in 2008 in time for the Olympic Games, the second largest airport terminal in the world after Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3, and the sixth largest building in the world by area.
• A 98.3 m monitoring tower stands at the southern end of T3, the highest building at the airport.
• Another expansion, Terminal 3 was completed in February 2008, in time for the Beijing Olympics.
• The furthest airport from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport (VDM), which is nearly antipodal to Beijing Capital International Airport (meaning Beijing Capital International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,920 kilometers) away in Viedma, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Beijing Capital International Airport", other names for PEK include "北京首都国际机场" and "Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng".