Nonstop flight route between Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Mount Cook, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Mount Cook Airport (MON), Mount Cook, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,041 miles (or 14,551 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 Mount Cook 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 Mount Cook 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):

• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Command, the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• "Pax River" redirects here.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: 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.
• 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.
• By 1965, reconnaissance Squadron VQ-4, based at NAS Patuxent River, began using Lockheed C-130s equipped with special communications equipment to perform their around-the-clock Take Charge and Move Out mission.

Facts about Mount Cook Airport (MON):

• Mount Cook Airport (MON) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mount Cook Airport (MON) is Glentanner Aerodrome (GTN), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) S of MON.
• The furthest airport from Mount Cook Airport (MON) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Mount Cook Airport (meaning Mount Cook Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,356 miles (19,885 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.