Nonstop flight route between Trapani, Italy and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS), Trapani, Italy and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,481 miles (or 10,430 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi and Moffett Federal Airfield, 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi and Moffett Federal Airfield. 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS):

• Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Inaugurated in the 1960s as a small regional airport operating very few flights, Trapani-Birgi became even less important in the 1990s, during which only a flight to Pantelleria was operated.
• The closest airport to Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) is Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) ENE of TPS.
• In addition to being known as "Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi", another name for TPS is "Aeroporto Vincenzo Florio di Trapani-Birgi".
• Data from Assaeroporti.
• The furthest airport from Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,817 miles (19,018 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi handled 1,878,557 passengers last year.
• Because of Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi 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.

Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In 2008, the Ames Research Center leased 42 acres around the field to Google.
• As an aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Navy wanted to use the airship hangars at Moffett for blimp operations along with Pacific Coast.
• In 1931, the city of Sunnyvale acquired a 1,000 acres parcel of farmland bordering San Francisco Bay, paid for with nearly $480,000 raised by the citizens of Santa Clara County, then "sold" the parcel for $1 to the US government as a home base for the Navy airship USS Macon.
• In September 2008, NASA indicated that it was still urging the Navy to restore the hangar, but that it is willing to help save the structure.
• On 1 July 1994, NAS Moffett Field was closed as a naval air station and turned over to the NASA Ames Research Center.
• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• By far the most famous and visible sites are Hangars #1, #2, and #3, which dwarf the surrounding buildings.
• In August 1986 during the NAS Moffett Field Airshow, the Italian demonstration team, Frecce Tricolori, and the German Navy's F-104 flight demonstration team, the Vikings, performed in front of the crowd.