Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and San Diego, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and NAS North Island (NZY), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,473 miles (or 8,808 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 North 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 North 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):

• On 1 June 1960, an Avro Anson aircraft suffered engine failure soon after take-off from Northolt and crash-landed on top of the nearby Express Dairies plant in South Ruislip.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about NAS North Island (NZY):

• Fortunately for the Navy, North Coronado was never developed.
• North Island was commissioned a Naval Air Station in 1917, called Naval Air Station San Diego until 1955.
• NAS North Island (NZY) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from NAS North Island (NZY) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,542 miles (18,575 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of NAS North Island's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS North 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.
• Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island is located at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay and is the home port of several aircraft carriers of the United States Navy.
• The list of American military pilots trained at North Island reads like the Who's Who of aviation.
• The closest airport to NAS North Island (NZY) is San Diego International Airport (SAN), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of NZY.
• In addition to being known as "NAS North Island", another name for NZY is "Halsey Field".
• During World War II North Island was the major continental U.S.