Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and West Lafayette, Indiana, 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 Purdue University Airport (LAF), West Lafayette, Indiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 879 miles (or 1,414 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 Purdue University 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.
• Also the possibility of a new municipal airfield endangered the existence of Ellington Field, rumors circulated throughout the Texas National Guard that the War Department wanted to transfer the aviation schools at Kelly and Brooks Fields to Houston.
• Navigation training was enhanced at Ellington when the Air Force installed a microwave navigation system.
• 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 base, which consisted of a few hangars and some wooden headquarters buildings, was completed in a matter of months.
• In addition to being known as "Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field", another name for EFD is "Ellington Field JRB".
• 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.
• New construction designated under the "Grow the Army" project was completed in 2010.
• Ellington Field was also a site for the USAAC Bombardier School, also known as "the Bombardment Academy of the Air." At Ellington Field, officials planned to train 4,480 bombardier cadets per year.
• World War II, with its increasing need for trained pilots, helped to reestablish Ellington Field as an active facility.

Facts about Purdue University Airport (LAF):

• Purdue University Airport has an FAA-staffed air traffic control tower and is the second busiest tower in Indiana.
• Purdue University Airport (LAF) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Kentland Municipal Airport (KKT), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NW of LAF.
• The furthest airport from Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,148 miles (17,941 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• FedEx donated a 727 to Purdue, which is taxied through the airport every once in a while.
• Because of Purdue University Airport's relatively low elevation of 606 feet, planes can take off or land at Purdue University 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.
• In the early 60s, runway 10-28 and a larger hangar were built to support the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction with two DC-6 aircraft.