Nonstop flight route between Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Ambato, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Chachoan Airport (ATF), Ambato, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,733 miles (or 4,398 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Chachoan 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Chachoan 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):

• The base became a center for testing as several facilities were constructed throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is St. Mary's County Regional Airport (LTW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of NHK.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
• Cooperation with the British also led to transatlantic visits to PAX River by RAF squadrons.
• Since the end of the Cold War, the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure measures have migrated research and testing facilities for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft to NAS Patuxent River from decommissioned bases.
• Because of Naval Air Station Patuxent River's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River 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.
• A highway extension to the new air station was required by the project—250,000 tons of material were transported by either truck or water routes during a year of construction.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Commissioned on April 1, 1943 on land largely acquired through eminent domain, the air station grew rapidly in response to World War II and continued to evolve through the Cold War to the present.

Facts about Chachoan Airport (ATF):

• Because of Chachoan Airport's high elevation of 8,502 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ATF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ATF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Chachoan Airport (ATF) is Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) N of ATF.
• In addition to being known as "Chachoan Airport", another name for ATF is "Aeropuerto Chachoan".
• The furthest airport from Chachoan Airport (ATF) is Pinang Kampai Airport (DUM), which is nearly antipodal to Chachoan Airport (meaning Chachoan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pinang Kampai Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,971 kilometers) away in Dumai, Sumatra, Indonesia.