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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Whangarei Airport (WRE), Whangarei, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,628 miles (or 13,886 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 Whangarei 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 Whangarei 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):

• Cooperation with the British also led to transatlantic visits to PAX River by RAF squadrons.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
• The base was also was used as a filming location for the Harrison Ford film Random Hearts.
• The original civilian residents had about a month, until March 1, 1942, to relocate as the federal government purchased all the land at a cost of $712,287 for 6,412 acres, which in 2013 dollars would be the equivalent of being paid $1,261 per acre.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Whangarei Airport (WRE):

• There are also several private aircraft hangars situated around the airport, including one that previously housed a Aero L-29 Delfín jet in 2008.
• The furthest airport from Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), which is nearly antipodal to Whangarei Airport (meaning Whangarei Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in Tangier, Morocco.
• Whangarei Airport (WRE) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WSW of WRE.
• Whangarei District Airport no longer has an Aero Club due to a drop in membership and private flying.
• Because of Whangarei Airport's relatively low elevation of 133 feet, planes can take off or land at Whangarei Airport 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.
• This upgrade allowed Air New Zealand, through its subsidary airline Air Nelson, start trialing flights with their new Bombardier Q300 aircraft.
• The airport has a modern air-conditioned terminal building with free wifi and a cafeteria, which services Air New Zealand's subsidiaries, Eagle Airways and Air Nelson.
• The change in aircraft type restored capacity to 136,656 seats available on Air New Zealand per year.
• The 1970s saw an increase in domestic travel from Whangarei, so a new airport terminal was built on the northern side of the main runway to cater for this.