Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Chico, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Chico Municipal Airport (CIC), Chico, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,961 miles (or 12,811 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 Essendon Airport and Chico Municipal 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 Essendon Airport and Chico Municipal 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 Essendon Airport (MEB):

• The airfield itself also has undergone a major upgrade with the installation of lighting and signage systems to bring the airport to International Civil Aviation Organization standards.
• The airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Essendon Airport (MEB) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Essendon Airport (meaning Essendon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,620 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• Because of Essendon Airport's relatively low elevation of 282 feet, planes can take off or land at Essendon 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 "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• International flights departed mainly from Sydney during Essendon's years of operation, and there were regular daily flights between the two largest metropolitan areas in Australia.

Facts about Chico Municipal Airport (CIC):

• The City of Chico built a small airport on 160 acres of land 5 miles north of the city in the late 1930s and leased the facility to a fixed-base operator.
• The Chico missile complex had two accidents in 1962.
• In addition to being known as "Chico Municipal Airport", another name for CIC is "Chico Army Airfield".
• The new command brought in pilots who had completed their basic and advanced training and received commissions prior to coming to Chico.
• Chico Army Air Field was deactivated on December 31, 1945.
• Because of Chico Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 73 feet, planes can take off or land at Chico Municipal 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.
• Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) is Oroville Municipal Airport (OVE), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) SSE of CIC.
• The furthest airport from Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,229 miles (18,071 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Southwest Airways and its successors including Pacific Air Lines, Air West and Hughes Airwest were the only airline serving Chico from 1947 until June 1979.
• An all black company was assigned to the Field in August 1942.