Nonstop flight route between Fort Rucker / Ozark, Alabama, United States and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) (LOR), Fort Rucker / Ozark, Alabama, United States and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,042 miles (or 12,943 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 Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) and Kapiti Coast Airport, 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 Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) and Kapiti Coast Airport. 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 Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) (LOR):

• The furthest airport from Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) (LOR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,213 miles (18,045 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) (LOR) has 4 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Lowe Army Heliport (AHP)", other names for LOR include "Lowe Army Heliport" and "Fort Rucker".
• The closest airport to Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) (LOR) is Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP) (HEY), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of LOR.
• Because of Lowe Army Heliport (AHP)'s relatively low elevation of 294 feet, planes can take off or land at Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) 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 Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• Constructed by the Royal New Zealand Air Force in July 1939 using equipment from Whenuapai, Paraparaumu was made available as an "Emergency Airport" by the government.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.
• The furthest airport from Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• As recently as 1992, alternate sites for a new airport for Wellington were investigated, including Paraparaumu, but a decision was made to upgrade Wellington Airport's existing site.