Nonstop flight route between Milford Sound, New Zealand and Wichita, Kansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Milford Sound Airport (MFN), Milford Sound, New Zealand and McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB), Wichita, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,184 miles (or 13,171 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 Milford Sound Airport and McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield, 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 Milford Sound Airport and McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield. 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 Milford Sound Airport (MFN):

• The closest airport to Milford Sound Airport (MFN) is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) ESE of MFN.
• The furthest airport from Milford Sound Airport (MFN) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Milford Sound Airport (meaning Milford Sound Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,230 miles (19,682 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Weather permitting, there is substantial daily charter traffic of light aircraft to and from Queenstown, Wanaka and Te Anau and on sightseeing trips.
• Over the years the airstrip has been upgraded and lengthened till today’s sealed strip of 792 metres.
• Prior to the ability of air operations, Milford Sound had no access in the winter months as the roads became impassable.
• Milford Sound Airport (MFN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Milford Sound Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Milford Sound 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.

Facts about McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB):

• The furthest airport from McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,740 miles (17,285 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In February 1965, when the 23 TFW deployed three squadrons to Southeast Asia for combat, these units were initially under the control of the 2d Air Division.
• The closest airport to McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB) is Cessna Aircraft Field (CEA), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) NNE of IAB.
• In addition to being known as "McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield", another name for IAB is "McConnell AFB".
• Up to 1 April 1952 the activity at Wichita Municipal Airport was under the jurisdiction of the Flying Training Air Force.
• On 31 May 1951, the USAF took title to Wichita Municipal Airport, and on 4 June the Air Training Command 3520th Combat Crew Training Wing was activated at the facility.
• On 6 October 1941, the unit was ordered to extended active duty and remained an integral part of the United States Army Air Corps until 6 October 1945, with duty assignments in Tennessee and Okinawa.
• In spite of the difficulty of building an installation and initiating an entirely new program simultaneously, the base developed into a highly specialized training center.