Nonstop flight route between Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Hedland International Airport (PHE), Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,649 miles (or 13,920 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 Port Hedland International Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield, 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 Port Hedland International Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield. 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 Port Hedland International Airport (PHE):

• Port Hedland International Airport handled 367,690 passengers last year.
• *Port Hedland-Perth route data only included from August 2009
• The furthest airport from Port Hedland International Airport (PHE) is Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport (AXA), which is nearly antipodal to Port Hedland International Airport (meaning Port Hedland International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport), and is located 12,251 miles (19,716 kilometers) away in The Valley, Anguilla.
• Because of Port Hedland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Hedland International 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 closest airport to Port Hedland International Airport (PHE) is Coolawanyah Station Airport (COY), which is located 113 miles (181 kilometers) SSW of PHE.
• Port Hedland International Airport (PHE) has 2 runways.

Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• In August 1986 during the NAS Moffett Field Airshow, the Italian demonstration team, Frecce Tricolori, and the German Navy's F-104 flight demonstration team, the Vikings, performed in front of the crowd.
• 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 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.
• In September 2008, NASA indicated that it was still urging the Navy to restore the hangar, but that it is willing to help save the structure.
• 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 airport is near the south end of San Francisco Bay, northwest of San Jose.
• Moffett Federal Airfield has occasional air traffic, with an average of 5-10 flights landing per day.
• In 2008, the Ames Research Center leased 42 acres around the field to Google.
• Upon taking jurisdiction of Moffett Field, the Army took on the high cost of Hangar One's maintenance and wanted to inactivate the facility.