Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Sola, Vanua Lava, Torba Province, Vanuatu:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Vanua Lava Airport (SLH), Sola, Vanua Lava, Torba Province, Vanuatu would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,747 miles (or 15,686 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 Vanua Lava 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 Vanua Lava 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):

• 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.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• 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.

Facts about Vanua Lava Airport (SLH):

• The closest airport to Vanua Lava Airport (SLH) is Mota Lava Airport (MTV), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NE of SLH.
• Because of Vanua Lava Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Vanua Lava 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 Vanua Lava Airport (SLH) is Bakel Airport (BXE), which is nearly antipodal to Vanua Lava Airport (meaning Vanua Lava Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bakel Airport), and is located 12,368 miles (19,904 kilometers) away in Bakel, Senegal.