Nonstop flight route between Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Qingshan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC), Qingshan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,094 miles (or 13,027 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 Xichang Qingshan 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 Xichang Qingshan 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):

• The station comes under the overall jurisdiction of the Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands, an officer of one-star rank.
• 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.
• The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• RAF Ascension Island was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".

Facts about Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC):

• The furthest airport from Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Xichang Qingshan Airport (meaning Xichang Qingshan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,015 miles (19,337 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• The closest airport to Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) is Zhaotong Airport (ZAT), which is located 107 miles (171 kilometers) ESE of XIC.
• In addition to being known as "Xichang Qingshan Airport", other names for XIC include "西昌青山机场" and "Xīchāng Qīngshān Jīchǎng".
• Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Xichang Qingshan Airport's high elevation of 5,112 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at XIC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make XIC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.