Nonstop flight route between Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Wilmington, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Wilmington International Airport (ILM), Wilmington, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,066 miles (or 8,153 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 Ascension and Wilmington 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 RAF Ascension and Wilmington 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 RAF Ascension (ASI):

• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• Wideawake Airfield was a US installation built in 1943 by arrangement with the British government.
• RAF Ascension Island is also the refuelling point for the Ministry of Defence's South Atlantic Air Bridge flights to RAF Mount Pleasant, on the Falkland Islands, from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, in the UK.
• The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.
• RAF Ascension Island was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War.

Facts about Wilmington International Airport (ILM):

• Because of Wilmington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilmington 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.
• The site is still undergoing environmental remediation, and the next five-year review for the site will be completed in August 2013.
• The closest airport to Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Albert J. Ellis Airport (OAJ), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) NNE of ILM.
• The airport was named Bluethenthal Field on Memorial Day, May 30, 1928, in honor of Arthur Bluethenthal, a former All American football player and decorated World War I pilot who was the first North Carolinian to die in the war.
• In 2006, the FAA Airport Improvement Program awarded Wilmington International Airport $10,526,342.
• In addition to being known as "Wilmington International Airport", another name for ILM is "New Hanover County International Airport".
• Wilmington International Airport (ILM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,693 miles (18,818 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• During World War II, the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force for antisubmarine patrols and training.