Nonstop flight route between Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom and Apataki, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kinloss Barracks (FSS), Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom and Apataki Airport (APK), Apataki, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,956 miles (or 14,413 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 Kinloss Barracks and Apataki 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 Kinloss Barracks and Apataki 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 Kinloss Barracks (FSS):

• The closest airport to Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is RAF Lossiemouth (LMO), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ENE of FSS.
• The furthest airport from Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,616 miles (18,694 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In 1972 and 1976 the new Hawker Siddeley Nimrod demonstrated its capabilities when it flew surveillance sorties over Iceland's disputed fishing limits, providing support for the Royal Navy and British trawlers in the Cod Wars.
• In November 2011 the Ministry of Defence announced that the first unit from the British Army would be 39 Engineer Regiment who will move from Waterbeach Barracks, near Cambridge, to Kinloss in July 2012.
• During the Cold War Kinloss squadrons carried out anti-submarine duties, locating and shadowing Russian naval units.
• The station defences were gradually established and by May 1940, Group Captain Jarman reported that the defence of Kinloss was in order.
• On 2 September 2006, 12 Nimrod crew members from 120 Squadron crew 3 and 2 observers were killed when their Nimrod, serial number XV230, exploded over Afghanistan.
• Because of Kinloss Barracks's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kinloss Barracks 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 RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a training establishment during the Second World War.
• Kinloss Barracks (FSS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Not long after VE Day 19 OTU was disbanded and the arrival of 6 Coastal OTU saw the beginning of Kinloss's association with maritime operations, an association that continues to this day.

Facts about Apataki Airport (APK):

• The furthest airport from Apataki Airport (APK) is Khartoum International Airport (KRT), which is nearly antipodal to Apataki Airport (meaning Apataki Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Khartoum International Airport), and is located 12,368 miles (19,904 kilometers) away in Khartoum, Sudan.
• The closest airport to Apataki Airport (APK) is Arutua Airport (AXR), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNW of APK.