Nonstop flight route between Oakham, England, United Kingdom and Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Cottesmore (OKH), Oakham, England, United Kingdom and Kikwit Airport (KKW), Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,150 miles (or 6,679 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 RAF Cottesmore and Kikwit 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 RAF Cottesmore and Kikwit 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 RAF Cottesmore (OKH):

• The furthest airport from RAF Cottesmore (OKH) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,813 miles (19,011 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Cottesmore (OKH) is East Midlands Airport (EMA), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WNW of OKH.
• In early December 2009, it was announced the station would close due to funding cut-backs, in part to help pay for additional helicopters for British operations in Afghanistan.
• Cottesmore was officially handed back to the RAF on 1 July 1945.
• RAF Cottesmore (OKH) currently has only 1 runway.
• However, with the outbreak of war, the aircraft and crews were sent to locations in the north and west, as enemy air attacks were expected over the southern half of England.
• The 316th TCG was part of the 52d Troop Carrier Wing.
• With the introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon into RAF service, No.3 Sqn moved to RAF Coningsby and No 1 Sqn moved from RAF Wittering.
• Because of RAF Cottesmore's relatively low elevation of 463 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Cottesmore 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.
• On 8 September 1943 the United States Army Air Forces took the facilities over, under the designation USAAF Station 489, flying troop transport aircraft.

Facts about Kikwit Airport (KKW):

• The furthest airport from Kikwit Airport (KKW) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Kikwit Airport (meaning Kikwit Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Kikwit Airport (KKW) is Idiofa Airport (IDF), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) E of KKW.
• In addition to being known as "Kikwit Airport", another name for KKW is "Kikwit Airport".
• Kikwit Airport (KKW) currently has only 1 runway.