Nonstop flight route between Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,310 miles (or 6,937 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 Whiteman Air Force Base and RAF Northolt, 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 Whiteman Air Force Base and RAF Northolt. 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 Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL):

• In May 1942, construction workers descended upon an area known to locals as the "Blue Flats" because of the color of the soil and began building a railroad spur for the new air base.
• Construction on Whiteman continued throughout the 1950s.
• The furthest airport from Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,815 miles (17,405 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• During the massive demobilization in the mid-1940s, the base closed and most of the buildings were abandoned.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".
• Whiteman AFB was established in 1942 as Sedalia Glider Base.
• Whiteman AFB is a joint-service base, with Air Force, Army and Navy units.
• Other aircraft assigned to Whiteman include the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack fighter.
• The 476th Fighter Group, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, is an Air Force Reserve Command unit linked to the 23rd Fighter Group at Moody.
• Missouri Army National Guard 1st Battalion 135th Attack Reconnaissance Brigade, AH-64 Apache
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.
• The contractors used 168,000 yards of concrete, 25,355 tons of reinforcing steel and 15,120 tons of structural steel.

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• The remains of a Hawker Hurricane flown by Flying Officer Ludwik Witold Paszkiewicz, the first pilot in No. 303 Squadron to shoot down an enemy aircraft, were donated to the station in June 2008.
• Northolt became an active base during the Second World War for Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force squadrons in their defence of the United Kingdom.
• Starting in 1946 the airfield was used by civil aviation during the construction of nearby Heathrow Airport.