Nonstop flight route between Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands and Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR), Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands and Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,543 miles (or 13,749 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 Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) and Westover Air Reserve Base, 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 Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) and Westover Air Reserve Base. 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 Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR):

• Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) is Mbambanakira Airport (MBU), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SSW of HIR.
• The furthest airport from Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) is Cap Skirring Airport (CSK), which is nearly antipodal to Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (meaning Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap Skirring Airport), and is located 12,138 miles (19,533 kilometers) away in Cap Skirring, Senegal.
• Henderson Field was named for Marine Major Lofton Henderson, commanding officer of VMSB-241 who was killed in action at the Battle of Midway while leading his squadron into action against the Japanese carrier forces thereby becoming the first Marine aviator to perish during the battle.
• Because of Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field)'s relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) 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.

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• During World War II Westover saw the training and formation of Airborne engineer aviation battalions to be used for rapidly establishing airfields in forward areas.
• Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts.
• Since the Constructing Quartermaster had already planned the base, the first permanent masonry buildings were constructed east of the airfield to those designs, which were intended to be lasting and attractive.
• In 1942 Westover Field was training center for anti-submarine, engineering, chemical platoons, bomber and fighter groups.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• Plans for Westover Field were made in 1939 as a result of the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland in 1939.
• The 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was moved to the base in January 1951 flying F-86A Sabres and assumed an air defense mission, providing air defense in the northeastern United States.