Nonstop flight route between Mendi, Papua New Guinea and Valence, France:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MDU to VAF:
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- About this route
- MDU Airport Information
- VAF Airport Information
- Facts about MDU
- Facts about VAF
- Map of Nearest Airports to MDU
- List of Nearest Airports to MDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDU
- List of Furthest Airports from MDU
- Map of Nearest Airports to VAF
- List of Nearest Airports to VAF
- Map of Furthest Airports from VAF
- List of Furthest Airports from VAF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Mendi Airport (MDU), Mendi, Papua New Guinea and Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,788 miles (or 14,143 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 Mendi Airport and Valence - Chabeuil 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 Mendi Airport and Valence - Chabeuil Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MDU / AYMN |
Airport Name: | Mendi Airport |
Location: | Mendi, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°8'51"S by 143°39'25"E |
Elevation: | 5680 feet (1,731 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDU |
More Information: | MDU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VAF / LFLU |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Valence, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°54'56"N by 4°58'6"E |
Area Served: | Valence, Drôme, France |
Operator/Owner: | Department of Drôme |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 525 feet (160 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from VAF |
More Information: | VAF Maps & Info |
Facts about Mendi Airport (MDU):
- The furthest airport from Mendi Airport (MDU) is Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), which is located 11,735 miles (18,885 kilometers) away in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
- The closest airport to Mendi Airport (MDU) is Moro Airport (MXH), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) WSW of MDU.
- Mendi Airport (MDU) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Mendi Airport's high elevation of 5,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MDU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MDU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
Facts about Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):
- The closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
- Because of Valence - Chabeuil Airport's relatively low elevation of 525 feet, planes can take off or land at Valence - Chabeuil 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.
- Used by the French Air Force base after the war, it was closed and today the airport is used for general aviation, with no commercial airline service.
- In addition to being known as "Valence - Chabeuil Airport", other names for VAF include "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-23" and "Aéroport de Valence - Chabeuil".
- After the forceful occupation of Vichy France in November 1942 as a result of Case Anton Wehrmacht units moved into the Valence area and the airport came under the control of the Luftwaffe.
- Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (meaning Valence - Chabeuil Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,333 miles (19,848 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The Portez was a heavy twin-engined fighter.
- In 1945 the Armée de l'Air returned to its airfield and it returned to its prewar status as an active air base.