Nonstop flight route between Eastsound, Washington, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Orcas Island Airport (ESD), Eastsound, Washington, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,912 miles (or 12,733 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 Orcas Island 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 Orcas Island 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 Orcas Island Airport (ESD):

• Orcas Island Airport covers an area of 64 acres which contains one asphalt paved runway measuring 2,900 x 60 ft.
• Orcas Island Airport (ESD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Orcas Island Airport (ESD) is Rosario Seaplane Base (RSJ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SSE of ESD.
• The furthest airport from Orcas Island Airport (ESD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,712 miles (17,239 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Orcas Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Orcas Island 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.
• ORS has been assigned to Orpheus Island Resort Waterport in Queensland, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Orcas Island Airport", another name for ESD is "ORS".

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• 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.
• On 10 November 2011, it was announced that Prince William would be serving as a Sea King pilot on the station for six weeks during February and March 2012.
• On 2 March 2012, the Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called for Aerolineas Argentinas flights to Buenos Aires to replace LAN Airlines flights to Chile.
• There is also a Joint Communications Unit providing the electronic warfare and command and control systems for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.