Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), Houston, Texas, United States and Isle of Man Airport (IOM), Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,609 miles (or 7,418 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 Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field and Isle of Man 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 Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field and Isle of Man 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 Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD):

• 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.
• The base, which consisted of a few hangars and some wooden headquarters buildings, was completed in a matter of months.
• Ellington was considered surplus to requirements after World War I and the base was inactivated as an active duty airfield in January 1920.
• In addition to being known as "Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field", another name for EFD is "Ellington Field JRB".
• In 1925 General William Mitchell conducted a "flying tour" of all National Guard Observation Squadrons throughout the United States.
• Several years later in 1927, Ellington's status was again threatened as local city leaders began to discuss the construction of a municipal airport.
• 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.
• 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.
• Navigation training was enhanced at Ellington when the Air Force installed a microwave navigation system.

Facts about Isle of Man Airport (IOM):

• Isle of Man Airport (IOM) has 2 runways.
• Isle of Man Airport handled 739,683 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Barrow/Walney Island Airport (BWF), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) E of IOM.
• The Manx Military and Aviation Museum is situated next to the airport and has exhibits and information about the history of aviation on the island.
• The furthest airport from Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Isle of Man Airport", another name for IOM is "Purt Aer Vannin".
• The airport reverted to solely civilian flying almost immediately after the war, but the airfield remained in Admiralty possession until sold to the Isle of Man Government for £200,000 in 1948, far short of the £1 million that the UK Government had spent on constructing the airport buildings and runways, plus the £105,000 that was paid by the Admiralty in 1943 to purchase the site.
• An expansion of the airport during the War led to the discovery of the archaeological remains of a Neolithic settlement belonging to what is now called the Ronaldsway culture, in honour of this site.
• Because of Isle of Man Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Isle of Man 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.
• Bus services are provided by Bus Vannin, formerly Isle of Man Transport.
• Ronaldsway was first used as an airfield in 1928 with passenger services to the UK starting in 1933, operated by Blackpool and West Coast Air Services.