Nonstop flight route between Reims, France and Wanaka, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE), Reims, France and Wanaka Airport (WKA), Wanaka, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,672 miles (or 18,785 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base and Wanaka 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base and Wanaka 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE):

• Reims Air Base was authorized by the French Air Ministry in 1925 and was opened in October 1928.
• Because of Reims-Champagne Air Base's relatively low elevation of 314 feet, planes can take off or land at Reims-Champagne Air Base 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.
• In addition to being known as "Reims-Champagne Air Base", another name for RHE is "Base aérienne 112Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-62".
• In addition, RAF units of the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force were attached to Reims equipped with Fairey Battles
• The closest airport to Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) is Château-Thierry - Belleau Aerodrome (XCY), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) WSW of RHE.
• In 2008 it was announced that the base would be closed.
• Reims – Champagne Air Base is a former Front-line French Air Force NATO air base.
• The furthest airport from Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Reims-Champagne Air Base (meaning Reims-Champagne Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,056 miles (19,402 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Under American control, Ninth Air Force assigned the 440th Troop Carrier Group to the base, flying C-47 Skytrain transports until the end of September.

Facts about Wanaka Airport (WKA):

• The lack of a VHF omnidirectional range beacon at the airport poses an issue for some aircraft.
• The furthest airport from Wanaka Airport (WKA) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Wanaka Airport (meaning Wanaka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,283 miles (19,768 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• The closest airport to Wanaka Airport (WKA) is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) SW of WKA.
• At the moment the runway's PCN value is too low to cope with heavier aircraft, along with restrictions on the passenger capacity of aircraft due to the limited airport facilities, however larger aircraft can operate into the airport, usually on charter services.
• Wanaka Airport (WKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is the site of the biennial Warbirds over Wanaka international airshow.