Nonstop flight route between Helena, Montana, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Helena Regional Airport (HLN), Helena, Montana, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,503 miles (or 12,075 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 Helena Regional Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant, 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 Helena Regional Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant. 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 Helena Regional Airport (HLN):

• Helena Regional Airport (HLN) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Helena Regional Airport", another name for HLN is "Helena Army Airfield".
• The closest airport to Helena Regional Airport (HLN) is Bert Mooney Airport (BTM), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) SSW of HLN.
• The furthest airport from Helena Regional Airport (HLN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,563 miles (17,000 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• After the surrender of the Argentine ground forces on the islands, the British still faced the problem of potential Argentine air attacks from Argentina, so an aircraft carrier had to remain on station to guard the islands with its squadron of Sea Harriers until the local airfield was prepared for jet aircraft.
• The furthest airport from RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Mount Pleasant (meaning RAF Mount Pleasant is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mohe Gulian Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China.
• On 10 November 2011, it was announced that Prince William would be serving as a Sea King pilot on the station for six weeks during February and March 2012.
• The British government felt that Stanley airfield was not the best option for a large, permanent station and decided to construct a new RAF station and make it the centrepiece of considerably strengthened air defences for the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• There is also a Joint Communications Unit providing the electronic warfare and command and control systems for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.