Nonstop flight route between Gisborne, New Zealand and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gisborne Airport (GIS), Gisborne, New Zealand and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,543 miles (or 18,576 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 Gisborne Airport and RAF Northolt, 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 Gisborne Airport and RAF Northolt. 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 Gisborne Airport (GIS):

• Eastland Group pay's Gisborne District Council an annual rental fee indexed to passenger numbers and is accountable for all capital investment.
• On 16 December 2004, Gisborne District Council voted to let Eastland Group manage the airport and lease the assets from 1 April 2005.
• The closest airport to Gisborne Airport (GIS) is Whakatane Airport (WHK), which is located 77 miles (124 kilometers) NW of GIS.
• Gisborne Airport (GIS) has 4 runways.
• Because of Gisborne Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Gisborne 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 furthest airport from Gisborne Airport (GIS) is Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC), which is nearly antipodal to Gisborne Airport (meaning Gisborne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Alicante-Elche Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,881 kilometers) away in Alicante, Spain.

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• On 1 June 1960, an Avro Anson aircraft suffered engine failure soon after take-off from Northolt and crash-landed on top of the nearby Express Dairies plant in South Ruislip.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• The outbreak of the First World War necessitated a new aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps.
• Northolt became an active base during the Second World War for Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force squadrons in their defence of the United Kingdom.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Thirty Allied airmen including servicemen from Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Poland and the United Kingdom were killed flying from RAF Northolt during the Battle of Britain, of whom ten were Polish.
• In January 2012, it was reported that the future of station was under review by the Ministry of Defence as part of efforts to reduce defence spending.