Nonstop flight route between Shafter, California, United States and Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shafter Airport (MIT), Shafter, California, United States and Helsinki Airport (HEL), Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,511 miles (or 8,869 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 Shafter Airport and Helsinki 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 Shafter Airport and Helsinki 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 Shafter Airport (MIT):

• The Gossamer Condor piloted by Bryan Allen won the first Kremer prize on August 23, 1977 by completing a figure '8' course specified by the Royal Aeronautical Society at Minter Field.
• The furthest airport from Shafter Airport (MIT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,404 miles (18,353 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Shafter Airport's relatively low elevation of 424 feet, planes can take off or land at Shafter 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 closest airport to Shafter Airport (MIT) is Meadows Field (BFL), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of MIT.
• For the 12-month period ending November 1, 2011, the airport had 45,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 123 per day.
• Shafter Airport (MIT) has 2 runways.
• The primary aircraft flown at Minter Field was the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, which was used for basic flight training.
• With the end of the war in 1945, airfield was determined to be excess by the military and turned over to the local government for civil use in March 1948.
• In addition to being known as "Shafter Airport", another name for MIT is "Minter Field".

Facts about Helsinki Airport (HEL):

• The furthest airport from Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,689 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki Airport", another name for HEL is "Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasemaHelsingfors-Vanda flygplats".
• Helsinki Airport handled 15,279,043 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SSE of HEL.
• Because of Helsinki Airport's relatively low elevation of 179 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki 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.
• Helsinki Airport (HEL) has 3 runways.
• Connecting the airport by frequent local bus 61 of Helsinki Regional Transport Authority or taxi to the Tikkurila railway station provides access to commuter trains as well as to long-distance trains in the directions of Tampere and Lahti, including lines to Saint Petersburg and Moscow.
• The airport is nominally divided into 2 terminals, located 250 metres apart and linked by an internal pedestrian connection both airside and landside.