Nonstop flight route between Pilot Station, Alaska, United States and Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pilot Station Airport (PQS), Pilot Station, Alaska, United States and Patrick Air Force Base (COF), Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,268 miles (or 6,868 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 Pilot Station Airport and Patrick Air Force Base, 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 Pilot Station Airport and Patrick Air Force Base. 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 Pilot Station Airport (PQS):

• In addition to being known as "Pilot Station Airport", another name for PQS is "0AK".
• Pilot Station Airport (PQS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Pilot Station Airport's relatively low elevation of 305 feet, planes can take off or land at Pilot Station 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 Pilot Station Airport (PQS) is St. Mary's Airport (KSM), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) NW of PQS.
• The furthest airport from Pilot Station Airport (PQS) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,503 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.

Facts about Patrick Air Force Base (COF):

• On May 3, 1951, the Long Range Proving Ground Division was assigned to the newly created Air Research and Development Command.
• The closest airport to Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Merritt Island Airport (COI), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NNW of COF.
• In addition to being known as "Patrick Air Force Base", another name for COF is "Patrick AFB".
• The host wing for Patrick AFB is the 45th Space Wing, whose officers and airmen manage all launches of unmanned rockets at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 12 miles to the north.
• The furthest airport from Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,550 miles (18,587 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1971, the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute was established at Patrick AFB.
• Adjacent to the 920 RQW's facilities is the NASA Flight Operations Facility, which provides support for NASA's permanently based UH-1H helicopters supporting KSC and transient NASA fixed-wing aircraft such as the T-38 Talon.