Nonstop flight route between Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Mmabatho, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,917 miles (or 12,742 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 Mafikeng 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 Mafikeng 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.
• Employing some 7,000 at its peak of construction, the area had a Gold Rush "boom town" feel as local residents were joined by workers from all over the country, eager to get on the high-paying jobs on station.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
• Research and development at NAS Patuxent River forged ahead in the 1970s.
• The base was also was used as a filming location for the Harrison Ford film Random Hearts.

Facts about Mafikeng Airport (MBD):

• In addition to being known as "Mafikeng Airport", another name for MBD is "Mmabatho Airport".
• The closest airport to Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNE of MBD.
• The furthest airport from Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is nearly antipodal to Mafikeng Airport (meaning Mafikeng Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kalaupapa Airport), and is located 12,081 miles (19,443 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mafikeng Airport's high elevation of 4,181 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MBD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MBD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.