Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Golmud, Qinghai, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Golmud Airport (GOQ), Golmud, Qinghai, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,505 miles (or 7,250 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 Golmud 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 Golmud 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Golmud Airport (GOQ):

• In addition to being known as "Golmud Airport", other names for GOQ include "格尔木机场" and "Gé'ěrmù Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Golmud Airport (GOQ) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,763 miles (18,930 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• The closest airport to Golmud Airport (GOQ) is Dunhuang Airport (DNH), which is located 260 miles (418 kilometers) N of GOQ.
• Because of Golmud Airport's high elevation of 9,333 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Golmud Airport (GOQ) currently has only 1 runway.