Nonstop flight route between Gisborne, New Zealand and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gisborne Airport (GIS), Gisborne, New Zealand and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,493 miles (or 10,449 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 Moffett Federal Airfield, 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 Moffett Federal Airfield. 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):

• The Eastland Group Website
• Eastland Group pay's Gisborne District Council an annual rental fee indexed to passenger numbers and is accountable for all capital investment.
• Gisborne Airport (GIS) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Gisborne Airport (GIS) is Whakatane Airport (WHK), which is located 77 miles (124 kilometers) NW of GIS.
• 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 Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• In 2006, an offer to clean the hangar and coat its outsides with solar panels to recoup the costs of cleaning was floated by a private company, but the plan never saw fruition because it was too costly.
• The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Hangars #2 and #3 are some of the world's largest freestanding wood structures.
• The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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.
• After the crashing of the Macon on 12 February 1935, the Navy wanted to close Moffett Field due to its high cost of operations.
• Post-Cold War defense cutbacks and related Base Realignment and Closure actions in the 1990s identified NAS Moffett Field for closure.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• A spirited debate is underway over the future of Hangar One.
• As an aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Navy wanted to use the airship hangars at Moffett for blimp operations along with Pacific Coast.
• Upon taking jurisdiction of Moffett Field, the Army took on the high cost of Hangar One's maintenance and wanted to inactivate the facility.
• In 1960, the nearby Air Force Satellite Test Center, was created adjacent to NAS Moffett Field.