Nonstop flight route between Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Harare, Zimbabwe:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Harare International Airport (HRE), Harare, Zimbabwe would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,914 miles (or 12,737 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 Harare International 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 Harare International 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 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.
• 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.
• Situated on a peninsula between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Patuxent River, NAS Patuxent River is located on 6,400 acres of what was once prime farmland, consisting of several large plantations, Mattapony, Susquehanna, and Cedar Point, as well as numerous tenant and sharecropper properties and a few clusters of vacation homes.
• 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.
• During construction, housing needs far outstripped supply, and barracks were built for workers on the station.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
• The base became a center for testing as several facilities were constructed throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
• 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.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.

Facts about Harare International Airport (HRE):

• The runway is used by both the civilian airport and the Air Force of Zimbabwe whose base is on the southern side of the runway.
• Harare International Airport handled 612,208 passengers last year.
• Air Rhodesia established its headquarters at the airport in 1967, and since Independence in 1980, Air Rhodesia's successor, Air Zimbabwe, has maintained the status-quo with its head office, too, located at the airport.
• Later the same year, an Airfield Construction Unit was formed to undertake an extensive search for a suitable site for a national airport.
• The closest airport to Harare International Airport (HRE) is Mutare Airport (UTA), which is located 125 miles (201 kilometers) SE of HRE.
• Also in 1949 the Minister of Mines and Transport set up an Airport Panel to co-ordinate the construction of the airport.
• In 1949 the government purchased Kentucky and Adair farms east of Salisbury for the construction of the new airport.
• Because of Harare International Airport's high elevation of 4,887 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HRE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HRE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Harare International Airport (HRE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Harare International Airport (meaning Harare International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,017 miles (19,339 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Harare International Airport (HRE) currently has only 1 runway.