Nonstop flight route between Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois, United States and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Southern Illinois Airport (MDH), Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois, United States and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,192 miles (or 6,747 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 Southern Illinois Airport and RAF Northolt, 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 Southern Illinois Airport and RAF Northolt. 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 Southern Illinois Airport (MDH):

• An air traffic control tower operates from 7am to 9pm each day and an ASOS weather facility operates on a 24-hour basis.
• Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) has 3 runways.
• Because of Southern Illinois Airport's relatively low elevation of 411 feet, planes can take off or land at Southern Illinois 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.
• The furthest airport from Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,052 miles (17,786 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) is Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) E of MDH.
• The airport opened in 1950 and was originally known as Murdale Airport.

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• Much media attention focused on the airfield when the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, arrived there from Villacoublay airfield, in Paris, France, after her death in a car crash in the city on 31 August 1997.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Four Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft arrived at the station from RAF Coningsby on 2 May 2012 to take part in a security exercise as part of preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
• Northolt became an active base during the Second World War for Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force squadrons in their defence of the United Kingdom.
• RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.