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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), Quito, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,656 miles (or 4,274 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 Mariscal Sucre 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 Mariscal Sucre 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: 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.
• Research and development at NAS Patuxent River forged ahead in the 1970s.
• Additional commands at NAS Patuxent River include Air Test Wing Atlantic and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division.
• 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.
• In addition to its role in testing naval aircraft, during the 1950s to 1970s Patuxent River served as an operational base for a Transport Squadron - VR-1, a TACAMO squadron - VQ-4, Airborne Training Unit Atlantic - AEWTULANT, and VW-11, VW-13 AN VW-15 and a number of Patrol Squadrons including VP-8, VP-44, VP-49, VP-24, VP-30 and VP-68.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO):

• Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mariscal Sucre International Airport", another name for UIO is "Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre".
• Subsequently, visitors toured the facilities of the passenger terminal building and the north and south ends of the runway.
• The furthest airport from Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) is Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport (PKU), which is nearly antipodal to Mariscal Sucre International Airport (meaning Mariscal Sucre International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,971 kilometers) away in Pekanbaru, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• Because of Mariscal Sucre International Airport's high elevation of 7,874 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at UIO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make UIO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) is Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX), which is located 58 miles (93 kilometers) SSW of UIO.
• Mariscal Sucre International Airport is the busiest airport in Ecuador and one of the busiest airports in South America.