Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU), Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,728 miles (or 7,609 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 Qualicum Beach 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 Qualicum Beach 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):

• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.
• Construction of the new aerodrome, to be named "RFC Military School, Ruislip", began in January 1915.
• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• Squadrons based at RAF Northolt during the battle shot down a total of 148 Luftwaffe aircraft and damaged 52.
• The overnight base of the London Air Ambulance moved to RAF Northolt from Denham Aerodrome in February 2013.
• 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.
• 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.
• Starting in 1946 the airfield was used by civil aviation during the construction of nearby Heathrow Airport.
• Much media attention focused on the airfield when the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, arrived there from Villacoublay airfield, in Paris, France, after her death in a car crash in the city on 31 August 1997.
• Northolt pre-dates the establishment of the Royal Air Force by almost three years, having opened in May 1915.

Facts about Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU):

• In addition to being known as "Qualicum Beach Airport", another name for XQU is "CAT4".
• Because of Qualicum Beach Airport's relatively low elevation of 190 feet, planes can take off or land at Qualicum Beach 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 Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,694 miles (17,211 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU) is Nanaimo Harbour Water Airport (ZNA), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) ESE of XQU.