Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), Houston, Texas, United States and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 828 miles (or 1,333 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 relatively short distance between Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field and Des Moines International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD):

• The closest airport to Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of EFD.
• The United States Air Force's 147th Reconnaissance Wing is an Air National Guard unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command.
• The furthest airport from Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field", another name for EFD is "Ellington Field JRB".
• For the first months of operation, Ellington Field had no pilot fatalities.
• In May 1923, the War Department had ordered the small caretaker force at Ellington Field to dismantle all remaining structures and to sell them as surplus.
• The $80 million construction project includes a 40,000-square-foot Battle Command Training Center, which simulates war conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan., a second Armed Forces Reserve Center with an assembly hall and offices, a Welcome Center, which will handle retention, recruitment and military identification services.
• In 1952, Air Training Command expanded the training program at Ellington with the establishment of a multi-engine flying training program as part of Flying Training Air Force.
• World War II, with its increasing need for trained pilots, helped to reestablish Ellington Field as an active facility.
• Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center.

Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):

• During the 1920s the Des Moines area had several small private airports for general aviation and airmail.
• On December 1, 2007, a United Express plane carrying 44 passengers slid off a taxiway while taxiing to the runway for takeoff.
• As of March 2014, Delta Air Lines handled of DSM passengers, followed by United Airlines, American Airlines, US Airways, Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, and Frontier Airlines.
• The furthest airport from Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Des Moines International Airport's relatively low elevation of 958 feet, planes can take off or land at Des Moines International 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.
• Des Moines International Airport covers 2,625 acres at an elevation of 958 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.