Nonstop flight route between Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States and Royan, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Patrick Air Force Base (COF), Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States and Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN), Royan, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,375 miles (or 7,041 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 Royan - Médis Aerodrome, 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 Royan - Médis Aerodrome. 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):

• In addition to being known as "Patrick Air Force Base", another name for COF is "Patrick AFB".
• Authorized by the Naval Expansion Act of 1938, Naval Air Station Banana River was commissioned on October 1, 1940 as a subordinate base of the Naval Air Operational Training Command NAS Jacksonville, Florida.
• Cost comparison studies done in the early 1950s pointed out the desirability of letting contractors operate the station.
• 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.
• Five of the victims of the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996 were home stationed at Patrick AFB as part of the 71st Rescue Squadron.
• The host wing for Patrick AFB is the 45th Space Wing, whose officers and airmen manage all launches of unmanned rockets at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 12 miles to the north.
• 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.

Facts about Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN):

• The furthest airport from Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Royan - Médis Aerodrome (meaning Royan - Médis Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,182 miles (19,605 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN) is Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) E of RYN.
• In addition to being known as "Royan - Médis Aerodrome", another name for RYN is "Aérodrome de Royan-Médis".
• Because of Royan - Médis Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at Royan - Médis Aerodrome 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.
• Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN) has 2 runways.