Nonstop flight route between Glendale, Arizona, United States and Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF), Glendale, Arizona, United States and Chatham Islands (CHT), Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,692 miles (or 10,770 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 Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field and Chatham Islands, 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 Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field and Chatham Islands. 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 Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF):

• The 56th FW is composed of four groups, 27 squadrons, including six training squadrons.
• In addition to being known as "Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field", another name for LUF is "Luke AFB".
• By the end of 1957, ATC basing structure had changed considerably as the result of tactical commitments, decreased student load, and fund shortages.
• The furthest airport from Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,450 miles (18,426 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF) is Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) S of LUF.
• The program was to be conducted by the Federalized Michigan Air National Guard 127th Fighter Group, which had transferred from Continental Air Command to ATC, effective 10 February.
• Luke Air Force Base was named after Second Lieutenant Frank Luke.
• Ground school, or classroom training for the advanced flying course, varied from about 100 to 130 hours and was intermingled with flight time in the aircraft.

Facts about Chatham Islands (CHT):

• Air Chathams operate services to Auckland, to Christchurch, and to Wellington operating Convair 580 aircraft, on the following days.
• In addition to being known as "Chatham Islands", another name for CHT is "Tuuta Airport".
• The furthest airport from Chatham Islands (CHT) is Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL), which is nearly antipodal to Chatham Islands (meaning Chatham Islands is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport), and is located 12,410 miles (19,972 kilometers) away in Montpellier, France.
• The closest airport to Chatham Islands (CHT) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is located 448 miles (722 kilometers) WNW of CHT.
• In 2012 The New Zealand Government announced plans to develop the airport as part of an overall Economic Plan for the Chatham Islands.
• The airport is the base of Air Chathams and usually houses two aircraft overnight.
• Chatham Islands (CHT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Chatham Islands's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Chatham Islands 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.