Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and First Flight Airport (FFA), Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,727 miles (or 5,998 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 First Flight 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 First Flight 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):

• Construction of the new aerodrome, to be named "RFC Military School, Ruislip", began in January 1915.
• 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.
• 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.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.
• In August 1996, a Spanish Learjet operated by Mar Aviation overshot runway 25 and collided with a van heading eastward on the A40 Western Avenue.
• During the construction of Heathrow Airport, Northolt was used for commercial civil flights, becoming the busiest airport in Europe for a time and a major base for British European Airways.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• In April 2013, the Ministry of Defence announced a proposal to increase the number of private flights from 7,000 to 12,000 per year as part of plans to increase the income generated by the airfield.

Facts about First Flight Airport (FFA):

• First Flight Airport covers an area of 40 acres at an elevation of 13 feet above mean sea level.
• First Flight Airport (FFA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from First Flight Airport (FFA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,810 miles (19,007 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport itself is famous for being the site of hundreds of pre-flight gliding experiments carried out by the Wright brothers.
• The closest airport to First Flight Airport (FFA) is Dare County Regional Airport (MEO), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of FFA.
• First Flight Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile west of the central business district of Kill Devil Hills, a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States.
• On December 17, 1903 the first successful powered heavier-than-air aircraft flight occurred here, conducted by the Wright brothers.
• Because of First Flight Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at First Flight 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.