Nonstop flight route between Shaoguan, Guangdong, China and Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaoguan Guitou Airport (HSC), Shaoguan, Guangdong, China and Patrick Air Force Base (COF), Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,644 miles (or 13,910 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 Shaoguan Guitou Airport and Patrick Air Force 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 Shaoguan Guitou Airport and Patrick Air Force 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 Shaoguan Guitou Airport (HSC):

• The furthest airport from Shaoguan Guitou Airport (HSC) is Martín Miguel de Güemes International Airport (SLA), which is nearly antipodal to Shaoguan Guitou Airport (meaning Shaoguan Guitou Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Martín Miguel de Güemes International Airport), and is located 12,367 miles (19,903 kilometers) away in Salta, Salta Province, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Shaoguan Guitou Airport", other names for HSC include "韶关桂头机场" and "Sháoguān Guìtóu Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Shaoguan Guitou Airport (HSC) is Ganzhou Huangjin Airport (KOW), which is located 104 miles (167 kilometers) NE of HSC.

Facts about Patrick Air Force Base (COF):

• In 1971, the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute was established at Patrick AFB.
• At 19:50, the tanker SS Gaines Mills reported seeing a mid-air explosion, then flames leaping 100 feet high and burning on the sea for 10 minutes.
• Adjacent to the 920 RQW's facilities is the NASA Flight Operations Facility, which provides support for NASA's permanently based UH-1H helicopters supporting KSC and transient NASA fixed-wing aircraft such as the T-38 Talon.
• The closest airport to Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Merritt Island Airport (COI), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NNW of COF.
• Authorized by the Naval Expansion Act of 1938, Naval Air Station Banana River was commissioned on October 1, 1940 as a subordinate base of the Naval Air Operational Training Command NAS Jacksonville, Florida.
• The furthest airport from Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,550 miles (18,587 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Patrick Air Force Base", another name for COF is "Patrick AFB".
• The host wing for Patrick AFB is the 45th Space Wing, whose officers and airmen manage all launches of unmanned rockets at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 12 miles to the north.
• In February 2005, the Patrick AFB Officers Club was destroyed by an accidental fire.