Nonstop flight route between Caen, France and Patuxent River, Maryland, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Caen la Mer Airport (CFR), Caen, France and Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,704 miles (or 5,961 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 Caen la Mer Airport and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, 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 Caen la Mer Airport and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. 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 Caen la Mer Airport (CFR):

• Because of Caen la Mer Airport's relatively low elevation of 256 feet, planes can take off or land at Caen la Mer 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.
• In addition to being known as "Caen la Mer Airport", another name for CFR is "Aéroport de Caen la Mer".
• Caen la Mer Airport (CFR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Caen la Mer Airport (CFR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Caen la Mer Airport (meaning Caen la Mer Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,021 miles (19,345 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Caen la Mer Airport (CFR) is Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport (DOL), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of CFR.

Facts about Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):

• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is St. Mary's County Regional Airport (LTW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of NHK.
• Research and development at NAS Patuxent River forged ahead in the 1970s.
• In addition to its role in testing naval aircraft, during the 1950s to 1970s Patuxent River served as an operational base for a Transport Squadron - VR-1, a TACAMO squadron - VQ-4, Airborne Training Unit Atlantic - AEWTULANT, and VW-11, VW-13 AN VW-15 and a number of Patrol Squadrons including VP-8, VP-44, VP-49, VP-24, VP-30 and VP-68.
• Commissioned on April 1, 1943 on land largely acquired through eminent domain, the air station grew rapidly in response to World War II and continued to evolve through the Cold War to the present.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
• Since the end of the Cold War, the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure measures have migrated research and testing facilities for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft to NAS Patuxent River from decommissioned bases.
• Employing some 7,000 at its peak of construction, the area had a Gold Rush "boom town" feel as local residents were joined by workers from all over the country, eager to get on the high-paying jobs on station.
• Because of Naval Air Station Patuxent River's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River 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.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".