Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Tôlanaro, Madagascar:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), Tôlanaro, Madagascar would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,365 miles (or 18,290 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 Moffett Federal Airfield and Tôlanaro 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 Moffett Federal Airfield and Tôlanaro 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 Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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 Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The adjacent NASA Ames Research Center is also home to several wind tunnels, including the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex.
• Moffett Field's "Hangar One" and the row of World War II blimp hangars are still some of the largest unsupported structures in the country.
• Upon taking jurisdiction of Moffett Field, the Army took on the high cost of Hangar One's maintenance and wanted to inactivate the facility.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• Moffett Field's Hangars Two and Three were built at the beginning of WWII for a program of coastal defense.
• The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• In 1931, the city of Sunnyvale acquired a 1,000 acres parcel of farmland bordering San Francisco Bay, paid for with nearly $480,000 raised by the citizens of Santa Clara County, then "sold" the parcel for $1 to the US government as a home base for the Navy airship USS Macon.

Facts about Tôlanaro Airport (FTU):

• The closest airport to Tôlanaro Airport (FTU) is Ampanihy Airport (AMP), which is located 141 miles (227 kilometers) W of FTU.
• In addition to being known as "Tôlanaro Airport", another name for FTU is "Marillac Airport".
• Because of Tôlanaro Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Tôlanaro 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.
• Tôlanaro Airport (FTU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Tôlanaro Airport (FTU) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located 11,435 miles (18,402 kilometers) away in Lompoc, California, United States.