Nonstop flight route between West Chicago, Illinois, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,718 miles (or 10,812 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 DuPage Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant, 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 DuPage Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant. 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 DuPage Airport (DPA):

• DuPage Airport is located on what used to be sheep-grazing land, but in 1927, two Chicago entrepreneurs purchased the land and began barnstorming, using the field as a grass strip.
• The furthest airport from DuPage Airport (DPA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,056 miles (17,792 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• DuPage Airport also serves as the headquarters for Illinois Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.
• DuPage Airport (DPA) has 4 runways.
• However, planners learned a lesson from the plight of the beleaguered, land-locked Midway Airport.
• The airport has faced severe political criticism in the 1980s and 1990s.
• In June 2010, the board of the DuPage National Technology Park, an 800-acre technology park that secured a $34 million state grant called for the dissolution of their organization.
• The DuPage Airport Authority owns 2,800 acres and operates four separate business units.
• In 1946, with the war over, the Navy sold the airport to DuPage County for $1.
• Because of DuPage Airport's relatively low elevation of 759 feet, planes can take off or land at DuPage 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.
• The closest airport to DuPage Airport (DPA) is Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport (AUZ), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of DPA.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• The furthest airport from RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Mount Pleasant (meaning RAF Mount Pleasant is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mohe Gulian Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China.