Nonstop flight route between Catania, Italy and Gweru, Zimbabwe:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NSY to GWE:
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- About this route
- NSY Airport Information
- GWE Airport Information
- Facts about NSY
- Facts about GWE
- Map of Nearest Airports to NSY
- List of Nearest Airports to NSY
- Map of Furthest Airports from NSY
- List of Furthest Airports from NSY
- Map of Nearest Airports to GWE
- List of Nearest Airports to GWE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GWE
- List of Furthest Airports from GWE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), Catania, Italy and Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE), Gweru, Zimbabwe would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,046 miles (or 6,511 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 Naval Air Station Sigonella and Gweru-Thornhill Air Base, 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 Naval Air Station Sigonella and Gweru-Thornhill Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NSY / LICZ |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Catania, Italy |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°24'6"N by 14°55'19"E |
Operator/Owner: | Italian Air Force United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 79 feet (24 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from NSY |
More Information: | NSY Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GWE / FVTL |
Airport Name: | Gweru-Thornhill Air Base |
Location: | Gweru, Zimbabwe |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°26'11"S by 29°51'42"E |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 4680 feet (1,426 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GWE |
More Information: | GWE Maps & Info |
Facts about Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY):
- Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) has 2 runways.
- When there was no room for expansion at Malta, the U.S.
- In late 1985, work crews belonging to NMCB 133 were repairing and installing sidewalks in the housing area at NAS I when they uncovered a small stockpile of Luftwaffe antiaircraft ammunition.
- The airport resides at an elevation of 79 feet above mean sea level.
- Because of Naval Air Station Sigonella's relatively low elevation of 79 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Sigonella 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.
- It also serves as an Italian base for the 41º Stormo Antisom.
- In the 1980s, Naval Air Facility Sigonella was redesignated as a Naval Air Station.
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,695 miles (18,821 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- By the end of August 1959, the NAF II airfield was available for daylight flights under visual flight rules.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Sigonella", other names for NSY include "Base aerea di Sigonella" and "NAS Sigonella".
- On the night of 10 October 1985, there were tense hours on NAS II when the Italian Carabinieri, Italian Air Force, and the US Army's Delta Force came close to firing upon one another following the interception by Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters of an Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, which had been commandeered by members of the PLO on 7 October.
- The closest airport to Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) is Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of NSY.
Facts about Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE):
- The furthest airport from Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (meaning Gweru-Thornhill Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- Because of Gweru-Thornhill Air Base's high elevation of 4,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GWE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GWE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Masvingo Airport (MVZ), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) ESE of GWE.
- Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) has 2 runways.