Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Merritt Island, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Merritt Island Airport (COI), Merritt Island, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,307 miles (or 6,931 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 Merritt Island 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 Merritt Island 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):

• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• 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.
• Since 1 June 1998, station commanders have served as aides-de-camp to Her Majesty the Queen.
• On 1 June 1960, an Avro Anson aircraft suffered engine failure soon after take-off from Northolt and crash-landed on top of the nearby Express Dairies plant in South Ruislip.
• Northolt became an active base during the Second World War for Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force squadrons in their defence of the United Kingdom.
• Thirty Allied airmen including servicemen from Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Poland and the United Kingdom were killed flying from RAF Northolt during the Battle of Britain, of whom ten were Polish.

Facts about Merritt Island Airport (COI):

• Merritt Island Airport (COI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Merritt Island Airport (COI) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,544 miles (18,578 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• An operations building and maintenance hangar were located on the south side of the airfield and the Mosquito Control District had a maintenance hangar on the north side of the airfield.
• The closest airport to Merritt Island Airport (COI) is Patrick Air Force Base (COF), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SSE of COI.
• Because of Merritt Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Merritt Island 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.