Nonstop flight route between Falkland Islands and Westsound, Orcas Island, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MPN to WSX:
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- About this route
- MPN Airport Information
- WSX Airport Information
- Facts about MPN
- Facts about WSX
- Map of Nearest Airports to MPN
- List of Nearest Airports to MPN
- Map of Furthest Airports from MPN
- List of Furthest Airports from MPN
- Map of Nearest Airports to WSX
- List of Nearest Airports to WSX
- Map of Furthest Airports from WSX
- List of Furthest Airports from WSX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands and Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX), Westsound, Orcas Island, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,908 miles (or 12,727 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 Westsound Seaplane Base, 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 Westsound Seaplane Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MPN / EGYP |
Airport Name: | RAF Mount Pleasant |
Location: | Falkland Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°49'22"S by 58°26'49"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from MPN |
More Information: | MPN Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WSX / |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Westsound, Orcas Island, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 48°37'5"N by 122°57'24"W |
Area Served: | West Sound, Washington |
Operator/Owner: | Westsound Marina |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WSX |
More Information: | WSX Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):
- Using the IATA airport code MPN, RAF Mount Pleasant also acts as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, along with its military role.
- The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
- The British government felt that Stanley airfield was not the best option for a large, permanent station and decided to construct a new RAF station and make it the centrepiece of considerably strengthened air defences for the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
- 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.
- Mount Pleasant was opened by Prince Andrew on 12 May 1985, becoming fully operational the following year.
- After the surrender of the Argentine ground forces on the islands, the British still faced the problem of potential Argentine air attacks from Argentina, so an aircraft carrier had to remain on station to guard the islands with its squadron of Sea Harriers until the local airfield was prepared for jet aircraft.
- There is also a Joint Communications Unit providing the electronic warfare and command and control systems for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.
Facts about Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX):
- Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,718 miles (17,249 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Because of Westsound Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Westsound Seaplane Base 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 Westsound Seaplane Base (WSX) is Rosario Seaplane Base (RSJ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) ENE of WSX.
- In addition to being known as "Westsound Seaplane Base", another name for WSX is "WA83".