Nonstop flight route between Decatur, Alabama, United States and Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), Decatur, Alabama, United States and Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN), Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,583 miles (or 12,203 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 Pryor Field Regional Airport and Zhoushan Putuoshan 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 Pryor Field Regional Airport and Zhoushan Putuoshan 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 Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU):

• In January 2010, the pilot training site was designated a historic landmark and added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
• Because of Pryor Field Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 592 feet, planes can take off or land at Pryor Field Regional 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.
• Pryor Field Regional Airport covers an area of 200 acres which contains one asphalt paved runway measuring 6,107 x 100 ft.
• The furthest airport from Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,180 miles (17,992 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Situated next to Calhoun Community College, the airport serves the western portion of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area and most of the Decatur Metropolitan Area.
• Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) is Huntsville International Airport (HSV), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DCU.

Facts about Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN):

• Across the entire site which was about 3,200m x 400m, a matrix of 150mm perforated iron pipes at 10m centers in both directions was installed vertically, in a manner that allowed the Chinese to pour water and sand down the pipes to help with the compacting.
• The closest airport to Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN) is Ningbo Lishe International Airport (NGB), which is located 54 miles (88 kilometers) W of HSN.
• In addition to being known as "Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport", other names for HSN include "舟山普陀山机场" and "Zhōushān Pǔtuóshān Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN) is Monte Caseros Airport (MCS), which is nearly antipodal to Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (meaning Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Monte Caseros Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,977 kilometers) away in Monte Caseros, Corrientes, Argentina.
• At the end of the day the runway length was held to 8,200 which is too short for fully laden 747's to take off safely although it could be extended at sometime in the future if this was ever required.
• An interesting fact relating to the design of the runway is that the existing site, which was a large area of rice paddy fields, was less than a half-meter above sea level, situated behind a protective dam which kept seawater out during severe weather.