Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Semey, Kazakhstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Semipalatinsk Airport (PLX), Semey, Kazakhstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,223 miles (or 10,015 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 Semipalatinsk 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 Semipalatinsk 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In April 2011, the exterior panels began coming down, starting at the top.
• Moffett Federal Airfield has occasional air traffic, with an average of 5-10 flights landing per day.
• The US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos, and NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.
• Post-Cold War defense cutbacks and related Base Realignment and Closure actions in the 1990s identified NAS Moffett Field for closure.
• 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.
• Hangar One is one of the world's largest freestanding structures, covering 8 acres.
• Narrow gauge tracks run through the length of the hangar.

Facts about Semipalatinsk Airport (PLX):

• In addition to being known as "Semipalatinsk Airport", another name for PLX is "Semey Airport".
• Semipalatinsk Airport (PLX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Semipalatinsk Airport (PLX) is Oskemen Airport (UKK), which is located 102 miles (165 kilometers) ESE of PLX.
• Because of Semipalatinsk Airport's relatively low elevation of 761 feet, planes can take off or land at Semipalatinsk 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.
• The furthest airport from Semipalatinsk Airport (PLX) is Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT), which is located 11,256 miles (18,115 kilometers) away in Puerto Natales, Chile.