Nonstop flight route between Great Bend, Kansas, United States and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Great Bend Municipal Airport (GBD), Great Bend, Kansas, United States and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,704 miles (or 12,398 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 Great Bend Municipal Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Great Bend Municipal Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Great Bend Municipal Airport (GBD):

• The airport is the site of the first nationwide NHRA event, held in 1955.
• The furthest airport from Great Bend Municipal Airport (GBD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,769 miles (17,331 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Great Bend Municipal Airport (GBD) is Hays Regional Airport (HYS), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) NNW of GBD.
• Great Bend Municipal Airport (GBD) has 2 runways.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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.
• Re-development proposals involve closing 11/29, with a parallel grass runway as the only crosswind runway.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• As recently as 1992, alternate sites for a new airport for Wellington were investigated, including Paraparaumu, but a decision was made to upgrade Wellington Airport's existing site.
• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• The original runway dimensions were 1350 m x 45 m with an 85 m starter extension available on runway 16, nearly touching Kapiti Road, which runs past the aerodrome.