Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Maupiti, Leeward Islands, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Maupiti Airport (MAU), Maupiti, Leeward Islands, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,559 miles (or 15,384 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 Maupiti 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 Maupiti 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 1943, the station became the first to fly sorties using Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXs in German airspace in support of bomber operations.
• Attention was high again in 2001 when Ronnie Biggs, the seriously ill, fugitive Great Train Robber, was flown from Brazil to the airfield to be arrested by waiting police officers.
• Group Captain Tom Barrett, appointed station commander in September 2009 and the final station commander of neighbouring RAF Uxbridge, died on 10 March 2011 following a road traffic accident on the A40.Wing Commander Jules Stilwell paid tribute to Group Captain Barrett, saying, "Tom was an extraordinary person.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• 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.
• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• 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.

Facts about Maupiti Airport (MAU):

• Because of Maupiti Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Maupiti 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.
• The furthest airport from Maupiti Airport (MAU) is El Debba Airport (EDB), which is nearly antipodal to Maupiti Airport (meaning Maupiti Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from El Debba Airport), and is located 12,198 miles (19,631 kilometers) away in El Debba (Al Dabbah), Sudan.
• Maupiti Airport (MAU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Maupiti Airport (MAU) is Bora Bora Airport (BOB), which is located 33 miles (52 kilometers) E of MAU.