Nonstop flight route between Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States and Stewart Island, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from FFA to SZS:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- FFA Airport Information
- SZS Airport Information
- Facts about FFA
- Facts about SZS
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFA
- List of Nearest Airports to FFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFA
- List of Furthest Airports from FFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SZS
- List of Nearest Airports to SZS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SZS
- List of Furthest Airports from SZS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between First Flight Airport (FFA), Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,144 miles (or 14,716 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 First Flight Airport and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome, 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 First Flight Airport and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFA / KFFA |
Airport Name: | First Flight Airport |
Location: | Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°1'5"N by 75°40'17"W |
Area Served: | Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. National Park Service |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FFA |
More Information: | FFA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SZS / NZRC |
Airport Name: | Ryan's Creek Aerodrome |
Location: | Stewart Island, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°53'58"S by 168°6'6"E |
Operator/Owner: | South East Air |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 288 feet (88 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SZS |
More Information: | SZS Maps & Info |
Facts about First Flight Airport (FFA):
- On December 17, 1903 the first successful powered heavier-than-air aircraft flight occurred here, conducted by the Wright brothers.
- First Flight Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile west of the central business district of Kill Devil Hills, a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States.
- The airport itself is famous for being the site of hundreds of pre-flight gliding experiments carried out by the Wright brothers.
- First Flight Airport (FFA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from First Flight Airport (FFA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,810 miles (19,007 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of First Flight Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at First Flight 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 First Flight Airport (FFA) is Dare County Regional Airport (MEO), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of FFA.
Facts about Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):
- In 1990 a hill at one end of the strip was leveled.
- The closest airport to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.
- Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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 furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
- Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The aerodrome was built in the late 1970s to accommodate Stewart Island Air Services.