Nonstop flight route between Punta Gorda, Florida, United States and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Punta Gorda Airport (PGD), Punta Gorda, Florida, United States and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,433 miles (or 7,134 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 Punta Gorda Airport and RAF Northolt, 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 Punta Gorda Airport and RAF Northolt. 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 Punta Gorda Airport (PGD):

• Because of Punta Gorda Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Punta Gorda 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.
• In addition to being known as "Punta Gorda Airport", another name for PGD is "(Formerly Charlotte County Airport)".
• Airline service resumed on November 22, 2008 when low-cost carrier Direct Air began twice weekly service to 10 cities in the eastern US.
• Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) has 3 runways.
• All base officers and some senior non-commissioned officers lived in Punta Gorda, while all student officers and most enlisted men lived in tent structures on the base.
• Punta Gorda Airport handled 149,141 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) is Page Field (FMY), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) SSE of PGD.
• The base initially had forty Curtis P-40 Warhawks assigned, later transitioning to the North American P-51 Mustang.
• The furthest airport from Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,471 miles (18,461 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1941 the US Army Corps of Engineers built an airfield on the current airport property as a combat pilot training base for the US Army Air Forces' Third Air Force, naming the facility Punta Gorda Army Airfield.
• Allegiant Air, operating McDonnell Douglas MD-80s, schedules flights to 12 states in the eastern and midwest U.S., all served via smaller airports much like PGD.

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• Northolt became an active base during the Second World War for Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force squadrons in their defence of the United Kingdom.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.
• Since 1 June 1998, station commanders have served as aides-de-camp to Her Majesty the Queen.
• Attention was high again in 2001 when Ronnie Biggs, the seriously ill, fugitive Great Train Robber, was flown from Brazil to the airfield to be arrested by waiting police officers.