Nonstop flight route between Mansa, Luapula Province, Zambia and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mansa Airport (MNS), Mansa, Luapula Province, Zambia and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,879 miles (or 15,899 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 Mansa Airport and Moffett Federal 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 Mansa Airport and Moffett Federal 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 Mansa Airport (MNS):

• Mansa Airport (MNS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mansa Airport's high elevation of 4,100 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MNS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MNS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Mansa Airport (MNS) is Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM), which is located 96 miles (155 kilometers) WSW of MNS.
• The furthest airport from Mansa Airport (MNS) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,789 miles (18,972 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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 Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• Hangars #2 and #3 are some of the world's largest freestanding wood structures.
• In September 2008, NASA indicated that it was still urging the Navy to restore the hangar, but that it is willing to help save the structure.
• On April 16, 1942, control of the facility was returned to the Navy and it was re-commissioned as NAS Sunnyvale.
• The airship hangar's interior is so large that fog sometimes forms near the ceiling.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos, and NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.