Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Mildenhall, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), Mildenhall, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,604 miles (or 18,674 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 Kapiti Coast Airport and RAF Mildenhall, 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 Kapiti Coast Airport and RAF Mildenhall. 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 Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.
• On 6 November 1970, Douglas C-47B ZK-AXS of the Ministry of Transport was damaged beyond economic repair during a downwind simulated takeoff, when the undercarriage collapsed.
• As recently as 1992, alternate sites for a new airport for Wellington were investigated, including Paraparaumu, but a decision was made to upgrade Wellington Airport's existing site.
• Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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 Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• The furthest airport from Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.

Facts about RAF Mildenhall (MHZ):

• RAF Mildenhall and its sister base RAF Lakenheath have the largest United States Air Force presence in the United Kingdom.
• The closest airport to RAF Mildenhall (MHZ) is RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) NE of MHZ.
• On 1 February 2001, the Air Intelligence Agency was re-aligned under Eighth Air Force at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.
• The 352nd develops and implements peacetime and wartime contingency plans.
• RAF Mildenhall is named after the nearby town of Mildenhall, Suffolk.
• In August 1979, the 6954th Security Squadron was designated as the 6954th Electronic Security Squadron to coincide with the designation of United States Air Force Security Service as the Electronic Security Command.
• The furthest airport from RAF Mildenhall (MHZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,829 miles (19,037 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.