Nonstop flight route between Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Stewart Island, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Jacksonville (NIP), Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,628 miles (or 13,885 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 NAS Jacksonville and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome, 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 NAS Jacksonville and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome. 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 NAS Jacksonville (NIP):

• The United States Air Force Air Defense Command established a Phase III Mobile Radar station at NAS Jacksonville in 1 July 1957 with the 679th Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron operating AN/FPS-3, AN/FPS-8, and AN/MPS-14 radars as part of the ADC radar network.
• The first detail of Marines arrived from Parris Island, South Carolina on June 4, 1940 to secure the 3,250-acre area, setting up a barracks in a former residence on Allegheny Road.
• Force reductions in the 1990s and early 2000s eliminated several P-3C squadrons and SH-60F/HH-60H squadrons at NAS Jacksonville, while the BRAC-directed closure of nearby NAS Cecil Field resulted in the relocation of Sea Control Wing ONE and its multiple Sea Control Squadrons operating the S-3 Viking until that aircraft's retirement from the active Fleet in 2008.
• The furthest airport from NAS Jacksonville (NIP) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,460 miles (18,444 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• By the mid-1950s, with the station's continuing growth, the Navy was having a tremendous impact on the economic growth in the Jacksonville and Duval County area.
• During World War I, the area now occupied by NAS Jacksonville, often referred to colloquially as "NAS Jax", was named Camp Joseph E.
• NAS Jacksonville (NIP) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to NAS Jacksonville (NIP) is Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (CRG), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NE of NIP.
• Because of NAS Jacksonville's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Jacksonville 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 addition to being known as "NAS Jacksonville", another name for NIP is "Towers Field".
• Support facilities include an additional outlying field for pilot training, a maintenance depot employing more than 150 different trade skills capable of performing maintenance as basic as changing a tire to intricate micro-electronics or total engine disassembly, a Naval Hospital, a Fleet Industrial Supply Center, a Navy Family Service Center, a DeCA commissary, Navy Exchange, and recreational facilities for both single sailors and families of the Active, Reserve and Retired military communities.

Facts about Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):

• The closest airport to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.
• The furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1990 a hill at one end of the strip was leveled.
• Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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 aerodrome was built in the late 1970s to accommodate Stewart Island Air Services.
• Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is a small airstrip on Stewart Island in southern New Zealand.
• In the mid-1980s Stewart Island Air Services changed its name to Southern Air Limited with Keith Smith, Joe Cave, Bill Haslett and Sam Nicol as shareholders.