Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Hailey, Idaho, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN), Hailey, Idaho, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,300 miles (or 11,747 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 Friedman Memorial 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 Friedman Memorial 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):

• The Kapiti Aero Club is based at the airport, along with other private fliers and charter businesses.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• This re-development was spurred by interest from Air New Zealand to operate Q300 aircraft.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Re-development proposals involve closing 11/29, with a parallel grass runway as the only crosswind runway.

Facts about Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN):

• The furthest airport from Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 10,794 miles (17,372 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Friedman Memorial Airport's high elevation of 5,318 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SUN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SUN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) is Challis Airport (CHL), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) N of SUN.
• Historically, the airport had scheduled passenger jet service provided in the past on a seasonal basis during the winter ski season by Horizon Air and America West Airlines.
• Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Delta Air Lines is the dominant carrier at the airport via its Delta Connection service which was operated for many years by SkyWest Airlines with Embraer EMB-120 "Brasilia" turboprop aircraft.
• The Friedman family donated much of the land for the airport to the city of Hailey in 1931 and the airport was officially recognized in 1932.