Nonstop flight route between Novato, California, United States and Chu Lai, Quang Nam, Vietnam:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Marin County Airport (NOT), Novato, California, United States and Chu Lai Airport (VCL), Chu Lai, Quang Nam, Vietnam would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,468 miles (or 12,018 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 Marin County Airport and Chu Lai 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 Marin County Airport and Chu Lai 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 Marin County Airport (NOT):

• Marin County Airport (NOT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was opened by the Wright family just after World War II to serve the thousands of ex-military pilots expected to be flying after the war.
• Gnoss Field celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2009–2010.
• Somehow Gnoss's single runway is laid out almost exactly perpendicular to the prevailing offshore west winds.
• In addition to being known as "Marin County Airport", other names for NOT include "Gnoss Field" and "DVO".
• When Gnoss Field's crosswinds exceed pilot or aircraft limitations, local pilots generally land at Petaluma Municipal / K069, 327 magnetic heading) or Napa County Airport / KAPC, 058 magnetic heading).
• The furthest airport from Marin County Airport (NOT) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,343 miles (18,254 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Marin County Airport (NOT) is Napa County Airport (APC), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) ENE of NOT.
• AWOS reports more closely conditions on the 31 end of the runway, and wind conditions are commonly significantly different on each end of the runway.
• The typical Gnoss Field crosswind landing conditions on runway 31 are a stronger than reported headwind on right base and, in a typical training aircraft, a slight amount of wind shear about 100 feet before the runway 31 threshold, settling down to a steady crosswind - but then adding to a slight headwind component, just past the near west side hangars.
• Because of Marin County Airport's relatively low elevation of 2 feet, planes can take off or land at Marin County 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.

Facts about Chu Lai Airport (VCL):

• The closest airport to Chu Lai Airport (VCL) is Đà Nẵng International Airport (DAD), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) NW of VCL.
• The furthest airport from Chu Lai Airport (VCL) is Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP), which is nearly antipodal to Chu Lai Airport (meaning Chu Lai Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rodríguez Ballón International Airport), and is located 12,369 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Arequipa, Peru.
• In addition to being known as "Chu Lai Airport", other names for VCL include "Sân bay Chu Lai" and "VVCA".
• In the Vietnam War, this airfield was an airbase of the United States Marines.