Nonstop flight route between Nikkō / Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT), Nikkō / Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,051 miles (or 17,785 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 Utsunomiya Air Field and RAF Mount Pleasant, 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 Utsunomiya Air Field and RAF Mount Pleasant. 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 Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT):

• Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT) is Fukushima Airport (FKS), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNE of QUT.
• In addition to being known as "Utsunomiya Air Field", other names for QUT include "宇都宮飛行場" and "Utsunomiya Hikōjō".
• Because of Utsunomiya Air Field's relatively low elevation of 334 feet, planes can take off or land at Utsunomiya Air Field 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 furthest airport from Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,685 miles (18,806 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• Flights are planned to Saint Helena when a new airport there opens in 2016.
• Additionally, every Saturday LAN Airlines operates a scheduled commercial flight to Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport of the Punta Arenas city in southern Chile, stopping at Río Gallegos, Argentina once a month.
• 33 Engineer Regiment provides constant support and is part of the Joint Service Falkland Islands Detachment which consists of RAF and RLC EOD teams.
• The furthest airport from RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Mount Pleasant (meaning RAF Mount Pleasant is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mohe Gulian Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
• On 10 November 2011, it was announced that Prince William would be serving as a Sea King pilot on the station for six weeks during February and March 2012.
• The British government felt that Stanley airfield was not the best option for a large, permanent station and decided to construct a new RAF station and make it the centrepiece of considerably strengthened air defences for the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.