Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Kolwezi, Lualaba District, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Kolwezi Airport (KWZ), Kolwezi, Lualaba District, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,576 miles (or 7,364 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 Kolwezi 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 Kolwezi 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):

• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• 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.
• Squadrons based at RAF Northolt during the battle shot down a total of 148 Luftwaffe aircraft and damaged 52.
• 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.
• RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.
• On 15 September 1940 during the Battle of Britain, No. 1 Squadron RCAF, No. 229 Squadron, No.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• An additional memorial to British, Polish, Australian and New Zealand aircrew killed during the Battle of Britain was unveiled in September 2010.

Facts about Kolwezi Airport (KWZ):

• The closest airport to Kolwezi Airport (KWZ) is Solwezi Airport (SLI), which is located 113 miles (183 kilometers) SSE of KWZ.
• The furthest airport from Kolwezi Airport (KWZ) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,817 miles (19,018 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Kolwezi Airport's high elevation of 5,007 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KWZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KWZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Kolwezi Airport (KWZ) currently has only 1 runway.