Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Oak Harbor, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and NAS Whidbey Island (NUW), Oak Harbor, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,740 miles (or 7,628 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 NAS Whidbey Island, 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 NAS Whidbey Island. 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):

• 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.
• Starting in 1946 the airfield was used by civil aviation during the construction of nearby Heathrow Airport.
• An additional memorial to British, Polish, Australian and New Zealand aircrew killed during the Battle of Britain was unveiled in September 2010.
• The outbreak of the First World War necessitated a new aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• 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.

Facts about NAS Whidbey Island (NUW):

• NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is A.J. Eisenberg Airport (ODW), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of NUW.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Whidbey Island", another name for NUW is "Ault Field".
• At Ault Field, the earliest squadrons of aircraft were F4F Wildcats, which came aboard in 1942, followed by F6F Hellcats.
• Because of NAS Whidbey Island's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Whidbey Island 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.
• In late 1993, with the pending closures of NAS Moffett Field, California and NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii additional P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft came aboard NAS Whidbey Island, along with the associated staffs of Commander, Patrol Wings, U.S.
• After World War II ended, operations slowed at war’s end and it was almost certain that NAS Whidbey Island would be earmarked for decommissioning.
• The furthest airport from NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,730 miles (17,268 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The other section of the air station is known as the Seaplane Base.