Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Suffield, Alberta, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and CFB Suffield (YSD), Suffield, Alberta, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,715 miles (or 12,416 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 CFB Suffield, 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 CFB Suffield. 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• 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.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• The original runway dimensions were 1350 m x 45 m with an 85 m starter extension available on runway 16, nearly touching Kapiti Road, which runs past the aerodrome.
• 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.

Facts about CFB Suffield (YSD):

• The closest airport to CFB Suffield (YSD) is Medicine Hat Airport (YXH), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SE of YSD.
• Defence Research and Development Canada is an agency of the Canadian Department of National Defence responding to the scientific and technological needs of the Canadian Forces.
• The base has its own radio station, CKBF-FM, which airs programming for both the Canadian and British military personnel stationed at the base.
• The lands comprising modern-day CFB Suffield were known as the "Suffield Block", resulting from the Dominion Land Survey, and comprised marginal agricultural land, given the perpetual semi-arid climate.
• The decision to designate the Suffield Block a military training facility in 1941 left tens of square kilometres of undisturbed prairie grassland intact from the effects of industrial agriculture.
• Following the fall of Algeria to Nazi Germany, the British Army required a new training facility for carrying out experiments in chemical warfare.
• The furthest airport from CFB Suffield (YSD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,339 miles (16,640 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.