Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Santa Paula, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Santa Paula Airport (SZP), Santa Paula, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,988 miles (or 11,246 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 RAF Mount Pleasant and Santa Paula 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 RAF Mount Pleasant and Santa Paula 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 RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• Additionally, every Saturday LAN Airlines operates a scheduled commercial flight to Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport of the Punta Arenas city in southern Chile, stopping at Río Gallegos, Argentina once a month.
• A flight of Westland Sea King helicopters for support and search and rescue has been located at Mount Pleasant since November 2007.
• Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
• On 10 November 2011, it was announced that Prince William would be serving as a Sea King pilot on the station for six weeks during February and March 2012.
• The furthest airport from RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Mount Pleasant (meaning RAF Mount Pleasant is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mohe Gulian Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China.

Facts about Santa Paula Airport (SZP):

• Santa Paula's first airport was originally established in 1927 when local rancher, Ralph Dickenson, purchased an OX-5 powered International biplane, cut a dirt airstrip on his ranch and built a hangar.
• Because of Santa Paula Airport's relatively low elevation of 243 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Paula 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.
• Santa Paula Airport (SZP) currently has only 1 runway.
• On February 21 and 22, 2005, Santa Paula Airport was heavily damaged when the rain swollen Santa Clara River ate into the airport property destroying airplane tiedowns, ramp and approximately 600 feet of part of the western one-third of the runway.
• The furthest airport from Santa Paula Airport (SZP) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,476 miles (18,469 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The former Logsdon's Restaurant closed in early 2013, no operator has resumed food service yet.
• The closest airport to Santa Paula Airport (SZP) is Oxnard Airport (OXR), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of SZP.