Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Johannesburg, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Rand Airport (QRA), Johannesburg, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,535 miles (or 16,955 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 Rand 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 Rand 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):

• In April 2011, the exterior panels began coming down, starting at the top.
• The US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos, and NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.
• On 1 July 1994, NAS Moffett Field was closed as a naval air station and turned over to the NASA Ames Research Center.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The airship hangar's interior is so large that fog sometimes forms near the ceiling.
• After the crashing of the Macon on 12 February 1935, the Navy wanted to close Moffett Field due to its high cost of operations.

Facts about Rand Airport (QRA):

• The closest airport to Rand Airport (QRA) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NE of QRA.
• The furthest airport from Rand Airport (QRA) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,977 miles (19,275 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Boeing 747SP at the South African Airways Museum Society situated near the threshold of Runway 29.
• Today, the airport hosts air charter operators, flying schools and a number of aircraft maintenance organizations, as well as pilot shops, car hire and other aviation-related enterprises.
• Rand Airport (QRA) has 2 runways.
• Rand Airport is a popular location for filmmaking for both the local and international film industries.
• In October 2000, the airport was privatized.
• Because of Rand Airport's high elevation of 5,482 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at QRA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make QRA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.