Nonstop flight route between Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States and Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Patrick Air Force Base (COF), Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States and Finschhafen Airport (FIN), Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,941 miles (or 14,390 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 Patrick Air Force Base and Finschhafen 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 Patrick Air Force Base and Finschhafen 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 Patrick Air Force Base (COF):

• US Navy Boeing E-6 Mercury aircraft, part of Operation Looking Glass, were sometimes seen at Patrick AFB during the 2010-11 time frame and were often mistaken by onlookers for the previously retired VC-137 Presidential aircraft, which looks similar.
• The furthest airport from Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,550 miles (18,587 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 920th Rescue Wing, part of Air Force Reserve Command, is another tenant command headquartered at Patrick AFB and is the installation's only military flying unit.
• The closest airport to Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Merritt Island Airport (COI), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NNW of COF.
• Three months after World War II, on December 5, 1945, NAS Banana River had an ancillary role in the disappearance of Flight 19, a formation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, which had departed NAS Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a routine over-water training mission.
• In addition to being known as "Patrick Air Force Base", another name for COF is "Patrick AFB".
• Additional tenant activities at Patrick AFB include the 920th Rescue Wing, the Air Force Technical Applications Center and the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute.
• During investigation by a board of inquiry regarding the entire Flight 19 incident, attention was given to the loss of the NAS Banana River-based PBM.

Facts about Finschhafen Airport (FIN):

• Finschhafen Airport (FIN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Finschhafen Airport (FIN) is Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) W of FIN.
• The furthest airport from Finschhafen Airport (FIN) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Finschhafen Airport", another name for FIN is "Finschhafen Airport".
• At the war's end, millions of dollars of equipment both new and used was bulldozed into a huge holes in the area and abandoned.
• Because of Finschhafen Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Finschhafen 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.