Nonstop flight route between Gisenyi, Rwanda and Oak Harbor, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gisenyi Airport (GYI), Gisenyi, Rwanda and NAS Whidbey Island (NUW), Oak Harbor, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,805 miles (or 14,171 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 Gisenyi Airport and NAS Whidbey Island, 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 Gisenyi Airport and NAS Whidbey Island. 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 Gisenyi Airport (GYI):

• The closest airport to Gisenyi Airport (GYI) is Goma Airport (GOM), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) WNW of GYI.
• Gisenyi Airport (GYI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Gisenyi Airport (GYI) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,980 miles (19,280 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Because of Gisenyi Airport's high elevation of 5,082 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GYI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GYI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• RwandAir, the national carrier, operated a three weekly service between Gisenyi Airport and Kigali International Airport.

Facts about NAS Whidbey Island (NUW):

• At Ault Field, the earliest squadrons of aircraft were F4F Wildcats, which came aboard in 1942, followed by F6F Hellcats.
• The furthest airport from NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,730 miles (17,268 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of NAS Whidbey Island's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Whidbey Island 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.
• A lightly utilized satellite airfield, Naval Outlying Landing Field Coupeville, is located on central Whidbey Island at 48°11′24″N 122°37′48″W / 48.19000°N 122.63000°W / 48.19000.
• The closest airport to NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is A.J. Eisenberg Airport (ODW), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of NUW.
• NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) has 2 runways.
• In early 1965, patrol squadrons began to leave NAS Whidbey.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Whidbey Island", another name for NUW is "Ault Field".
• In all, there are 17 active duty squadrons and 2 Ready Reserve squadrons currently based at NAS Whidbey Island.