Nonstop flight route between Mount Vernon, Illinois, United States and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mt. Vernon Airport (MVN), Mount Vernon, Illinois, United States and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,734 miles (or 9,228 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 Mt. Vernon Airport and RAF Ascension, 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 Mt. Vernon Airport and RAF Ascension. 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 Mt. Vernon Airport (MVN):

• Mt. Vernon Airport (MVN) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Mt. Vernon Airport (MVN) is Salem–Leckrone Airport (SLO), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NNW of MVN.
• The furthest airport from Mt. Vernon Airport (MVN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,070 miles (17,815 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Mt. Vernon Airport's relatively low elevation of 480 feet, planes can take off or land at Mt. Vernon 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.

Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):

• Ascension serves as a diversion airport for ETOPS aircraft crossing the Atlantic.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.
• The NASA Tracking Station at Devil's Ashpit and the Cable & Wireless Earth Station at Donkey Plain were built in the "mid-sixties" for space operations and communications, including the latter's use for transmitting "microwave borne data via the Early Bird Satellite back to the NASA facility at Andover, Maine.
• Ascension Island Auxiliary Field was being built by 181 men from Saint Helena by 1957
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".