Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Palmdale, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,728 miles (or 10,828 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 Palmdale Regional Airport, 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 Palmdale Regional Airport. 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.
• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• The Kapiti Aero Club is based at the airport, along with other private fliers and charter businesses.
• 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.
• This re-development was spurred by interest from Air New Zealand to operate Q300 aircraft.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 17 February 2008, above an adjacent hardware store, Placemakers, there was a triple-fatality mid-air collision between a Cessna 152 and a helicopter, both of which plummeted from approximately 1500 ft, the helicopter into the store and the plane into a nearby street.

Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• The Federal Aviation Administration operates its Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center at its site on Plant 42 by Avenue P and 25th Street East.
• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
• Palmdale Regional Airport has a small airline terminal and a hangar.
• LAWA has used Plant 42's facilities in past years when at one point in the early 1990s several airlines used the Palmdale Regional Airport terminal sited on Plant 42.
• PMD and Plant 42 are separate facilities that share a common runway at the site.
• In 1940, Palmdale Army Airfield was activated as a United States Army Air Corps airfield for use as an emergency landing strip and for B-25 Mitchell medium bomber support training during World War II.
• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum and the adjacent Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark have recently been opened on Plant 42 property along Avenue P with displays of the SR-71, U-2, Century Series fighters and other aircraft designed, engineered, manufactured, and flight tested at its facilities.
• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.