Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Kitale, Kenya:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Kitale Airport (KTL), Kitale, Kenya would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,405 miles (or 15,135 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 Kitale 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 Kitale 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.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• By far the most famous and visible sites are Hangars #1, #2, and #3, which dwarf the surrounding buildings.
• An episode of the Discovery Channel TV show MythBusters used one of the hangars to disprove the myth that it is not possible to fold a sheet of paper in half more than seven times.
• On 1 July 1994, NAS Moffett Field was closed as a naval air station and turned over to the NASA Ames Research Center.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 airship hangar's interior is so large that fog sometimes forms near the ceiling.
• The US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos, and NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.

Facts about Kitale Airport (KTL):

• Kitale Airport (KTL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kitale Airport (KTL) is Eldoret International Airport (EDL), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SSE of KTL.
• The furthest airport from Kitale Airport (KTL) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,701 miles (18,832 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Because of Kitale Airport's high elevation of 6,070 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KTL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KTL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Kitale Airport is located in Trans-Nzoia District, Rift Valley Province, in the town of Kitale, in northwestern Kenya, close to the International border with the Republic of Uganda.