Nonstop flight route between Matamata, New Zealand and Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Matamata Airport (MTA), Matamata, New Zealand and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,399 miles (or 18,344 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 Matamata Airport and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375, 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 Matamata Airport and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375. 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 Matamata Airport (MTA):

• The closest airport to Matamata Airport (MTA) is Hamilton International Airport (HLZ), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) WSW of MTA.
• The furthest airport from Matamata Airport (MTA) is Córdoba Airport (ODB), which is nearly antipodal to Matamata Airport (meaning Matamata Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Córdoba Airport), and is located 12,404 miles (19,962 kilometers) away in Córdoba, Spain.

Facts about RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ):

• IX Squadron reformed at RAF Honington in August 1982, becoming the world's first Panavia Tornado GR1 squadron.
• The closest airport to RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of BEQ.
• English Electric Canberra bomber squadrons, 10, XV, 44, and 57 were based at RAF Honington from February 1955 to 1957.
• In June 1942, the airfield was transferred to the USAAF and was upgraded to a Class A Bomber base.
• Converted from P-38 Lightnings to P-51 Mustangs in the summer of 1944 and from then until the end of the war flew many long-range escort missions heavy bombers that attacked oil refineries, industries, and other strategic objectives at Berlin, Regensburg, Merseburg, Stuttgart, Brussels, and elsewhere.
• Then, in May of that year, a Wellington returning from a night trip attempted to land at Honington with its wheels retracted.
• Honington was assigned USAAF designation Station 375.
• IX Squadron flew the first RAF bombing raid of the Second World War on 4 September 1939 flying a mission against the Kriegsmarine in the Baltic resulting in the loss of two Wellingtons.
• Besides the air depot, Honington also housed an operational fighter unit when the 364th Fighter Group took up residence at Honington in February 1944, arriving from Santa Maria AAF, California.
• Construction of Honington airfield began in 1935, and the facility was opened on 3 May 1937.
• The furthest airport from RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,834 miles (19,044 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located 6 mi south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England.