Nonstop flight route between Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE), Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and Kinloss Barracks (FSS), Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,216 miles (or 6,784 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and Kinloss Barracks, 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and Kinloss Barracks. 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE):

• After World War II, the airport property was returned to Pinellas County by the U.S.
• This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings per year.
• The furthest airport from St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,426 miles (18,388 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport includes a 24-hour airport rescue and fire-fighting department, facilities, operations, engineering, security, and administrative personnel.
• The closest airport to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Clearwater Air Park (CLW), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NW of PIE.
• St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) has 4 runways.
• The 304th Fighter Squadron, a combat training unit of the 337th Fighter Group based P-40 Warhawks and, later, P-51 Mustangs at Pinellas Army Airfield for the duration of World War II.
• Because of St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Pete–Clearwater 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.

Facts about Kinloss Barracks (FSS):

• The closest airport to Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is RAF Lossiemouth (LMO), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ENE of FSS.
• Throughout the majority of the war 19 Operational Training Unit was the primary training unit.
• Kinloss Barracks is a former Royal Air Force station, located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland.
• The furthest airport from Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,616 miles (18,694 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• 19 OTU was split into 236 Operational Conversion Unit and the School of Maritime Reconnaissance in 1947 with 236 remaining at Kinloss.
• On 2 September 2006, 12 Nimrod crew members from 120 Squadron crew 3 and 2 observers were killed when their Nimrod, serial number XV230, exploded over Afghanistan.
• Kinloss Barracks (FSS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kinloss Barracks's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kinloss Barracks 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.