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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,235 miles (or 16,471 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 Upington 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 Upington 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.
• Narrow gauge tracks run through the length of the hangar.
• Moffett Field's Hangars Two and Three were built at the beginning of WWII for a program of coastal defense.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Hangars #2 and #3 are some of the world's largest freestanding wood structures.
• The airport is near the south end of San Francisco Bay, northwest of San Jose.
• On 1 July 1994, NAS Moffett Field was closed as a naval air station and turned over to the NASA Ames Research Center.
• 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 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.

Facts about Upington Airport (UTN):

• Upington Airport's uncommonly long runway and its strategically advantageous location, close to South Africa's northern borders, makes it ideally placed to serve the African continent.
• Upington Airport's runway was built to accommodate a Boeing 747 with a full load of passengers, cargo and fuel, so that it could take off for Europe without having to stop along the way.
• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.
• Upington Airport serves as an international cargo hub.
• The furthest airport from Upington Airport (UTN) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is nearly antipodal to Upington Airport (meaning Upington Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Princeville Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Upington Airport (UTN) has 3 runways.