Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Changde, Hunan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Changde Taohuayuan Airport (CGD), Changde, Hunan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,525 miles (or 8,891 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 RAF Northolt and Changde Taohuayuan 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 RAF Northolt and Changde Taohuayuan 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 RAF Northolt (NHT):

• In December 1946, after taking off during a heavy snowstorm, a Douglas DC-3 operated by British European Airways, flying from Northolt to Glasgow, crashed onto the roof of a house in South Ruislip.
• Following Louis Blériot's first flight across the English Channel in 1909, the British Army considered the necessity of defending the United Kingdom from a future air attack.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1943, the station became the first to fly sorties using Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXs in German airspace in support of bomber operations.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• The remains of a Hawker Hurricane flown by Flying Officer Ludwik Witold Paszkiewicz, the first pilot in No. 303 Squadron to shoot down an enemy aircraft, were donated to the station in June 2008.

Facts about Changde Taohuayuan Airport (CGD):

• The furthest airport from Changde Taohuayuan Airport (CGD) is Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport (IRJ), which is nearly antipodal to Changde Taohuayuan Airport (meaning Changde Taohuayuan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport), and is located 12,337 miles (19,855 kilometers) away in La Rioja, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Changde Taohuayuan Airport (CGD) is Zhangjiajie Airport (DYG), which is located 73 miles (118 kilometers) W of CGD.