Nonstop flight route between Vadsø, Finnmark, Norway and Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vadsø Airport (VDS), Vadsø, Finnmark, Norway and Patrick Air Force Base (COF), Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,846 miles (or 7,799 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 Vadsø Airport and Patrick Air Force Base, 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 Vadsø Airport and Patrick Air Force Base. 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 Vadsø Airport (VDS):

• Widerøe operated Twin Otters on the route until 1995, when the Dash 8 was introduced.
• Vadsø was during the late 1930s and from the mid-1940s served with a seaplane route operated by Widerøe and Norwegian Air Lines.
• The first seaplane route to Vadsø was started by Widerøe in 1938, which flew along the coast south to Trondheim.
• In addition to being known as "Vadsø Airport", another name for VDS is "Vadsø lufthavn".
• Because of Vadsø Airport's relatively low elevation of 127 feet, planes can take off or land at Vadsø Airport 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.
• Vadsø Airport handled 81,772 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Vadsø Airport (VDS) is Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) S of VDS.
• The distance from Vardø Airport to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen is 38 kilometers.
• The furthest airport from Vadsø Airport (VDS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,407 miles (16,748 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Patrick Air Force Base (COF):

• The closest airport to Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Merritt Island Airport (COI), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NNW of COF.
• The furthest airport from Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,550 miles (18,587 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• NAS Banana River closed in September 1947 after a gradual deactivation and was placed in a caretaker status.
• The 920 RQW is a full participant in the Air Force's current Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force operating concept.
• In addition to being known as "Patrick Air Force Base", another name for COF is "Patrick AFB".
• In 2010, the Air Force announced its intention to replace the existing AFTAC building front State Road A1A with a new facility that would cost in the range from $100 to $200 million.
• Adjacent to the 920 RQW's facilities is the NASA Flight Operations Facility, which provides support for NASA's permanently based UH-1H helicopters supporting KSC and transient NASA fixed-wing aircraft such as the T-38 Talon.
• The Air Force Technical Applications Center is a tenant command headquartered at Patrick AFB.