Nonstop flight route between Ihu, Papua New Guinea and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ihu Airport (IHU), Ihu, Papua New Guinea and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,869 miles (or 14,273 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 Ihu Airport and RAF Benson, 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 Ihu Airport and RAF Benson. 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 Ihu Airport (IHU):

• Because of Ihu Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Ihu 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ihu Airport", another name for IHU is "AYIH".
• Ihu Airport (IHU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ihu Airport (IHU) is Kerema Airport (KMA), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) E of IHU.
• The furthest airport from Ihu Airport (IHU) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,611 miles (18,686 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):

• The future of RAF Benson was in doubt for some time, while Project Belvedere was looking into closing at least one of Joint Helicopter Command's airfields.
• The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.
• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
• The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.