Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Galway, Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Galway Airport (GWY), Galway, Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,009 miles (or 8,061 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 Galway 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 Galway 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):

• On April 16, 1942, control of the facility was returned to the Navy and it was re-commissioned as NAS Sunnyvale.
• The Hangars One, Two, and Three, and the adjacent Shenandoah Plaza are collectively designated as a National Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• 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 naval air station was authorized by an Act of Congress, signed by President Herbert Hoover on 12 February 1931.
• Narrow gauge tracks run through the length of the hangar.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• In August 2008, the Navy proposed simply stripping the toxic coating from the hangar and leaving the skeleton after spraying it with a preservative.
• 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.
• By far the most famous and visible sites are Hangars #1, #2, and #3, which dwarf the surrounding buildings.
• 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.

Facts about Galway Airport (GWY):

• Because of Galway Airport's relatively low elevation of 81 feet, planes can take off or land at Galway 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.
• In addition to being known as "Galway Airport", another name for GWY is "Aerphort na Gaillimhe".
• The closest airport to Galway Airport (GWY) is Connemara Airport (NNR), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) WSW of GWY.
• Galway Airport (GWY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Galway Airport (GWY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,976 miles (19,273 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Since 2008 numbers and routes have dropped considerably with only Aer Arann routes to Luton, Lorient, Manchester and Edinburgh remaining.
• In June 2011 the Government announced that funding for Galway Airport will cease by December 2011.