Nonstop flight route between Rifle, Colorado, United States and Patuxent River, Maryland, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RIL to NHK:
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- About this route
- RIL Airport Information
- NHK Airport Information
- Facts about RIL
- Facts about NHK
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIL
- List of Nearest Airports to RIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIL
- List of Furthest Airports from RIL
- Map of Nearest Airports to NHK
- List of Nearest Airports to NHK
- Map of Furthest Airports from NHK
- List of Furthest Airports from NHK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL), Rifle, Colorado, United States and Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,677 miles (or 2,700 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 relatively short distance between Garfield County Regional Airport and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RIL / KRIL |
Airport Name: | Garfield County Regional Airport |
Location: | Rifle, Colorado, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°31'35"N by 107°43'36"W |
Area Served: | Garfield County, Colorado |
Operator/Owner: | Garfield County |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5548 feet (1,691 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIL |
More Information: | RIL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NHK / KNHK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Patuxent River, Maryland, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°17'9"N by 76°24'42"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Naval Air Station |
Elevation: | 39 feet (12 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NHK |
More Information: | NHK Maps & Info |
Facts about Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL):
- The furthest airport from Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,972 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The closest airport to Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) E of RIL.
- Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Garfield County Regional Airport's high elevation of 5,548 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
Facts about Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):
- By 1965, reconnaissance Squadron VQ-4, based at NAS Patuxent River, began using Lockheed C-130s equipped with special communications equipment to perform their around-the-clock Take Charge and Move Out mission.
- The closest airport to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is St. Mary's County Regional Airport (LTW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of NHK.
- Employing some 7,000 at its peak of construction, the area had a Gold Rush "boom town" feel as local residents were joined by workers from all over the country, eager to get on the high-paying jobs on station.
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Additional commands at NAS Patuxent River include Air Test Wing Atlantic and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
- Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
- The original civilian residents had about a month, until March 1, 1942, to relocate as the federal government purchased all the land at a cost of $712,287 for 6,412 acres, which in 2013 dollars would be the equivalent of being paid $1,261 per acre.
- Cooperation with the British also led to transatlantic visits to PAX River by RAF squadrons.
- Because of Naval Air Station Patuxent River's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River 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.