Nonstop flight route between Poitiers, France and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS), Poitiers, France and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,625 miles (or 9,053 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 Poitiers–Biard 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 Poitiers–Biard 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 Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS):

• Because of Poitiers–Biard Airport's relatively low elevation of 423 feet, planes can take off or land at Poitiers–Biard 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.
• Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Poitiers–Biard Airport", another name for PIS is "Aéroport de Poitiers – Biard".
• The furthest airport from Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Poitiers–Biard Airport (meaning Poitiers–Biard Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,189 miles (19,616 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS) is Angoulême - Brie - Champniers Airport (ANG), which is located 59 miles (96 kilometers) S of PIS.

Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• As an aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Navy wanted to use the airship hangars at Moffett for blimp operations along with Pacific Coast.
• 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.
• 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 naval air station was authorized by an Act of Congress, signed by President Herbert Hoover on 12 February 1931.
• 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.
• At its peak in the 1990s, NAS Moffett Field was the U.S.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos, and NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.