Nonstop flight route between Værøy, Nordland, Norway and Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Værøy Heliport (VRY), Værøy, Nordland, Norway and NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,769 miles (or 7,675 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 Værøy Heliport and NAS Key West, 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 Værøy Heliport and NAS Key West. 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 Værøy Heliport (VRY):

• The furthest airport from Værøy Heliport (VRY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 10,759 miles (17,314 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Værøy Heliport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Værøy Heliport 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.
• Services to Værøy are provided to Bodø twice per day by Lufttransport using a fifteen-seat AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter.
• One of the helicopters was bought by Widerøe in December 1976 and the operations were subcontracted to Offshore Helicopters.
• Værøy Heliport handled 10,210 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Værøy Heliport", another name for VRY is "Værøy helikopterhavn".
• The closest airport to Værøy Heliport (VRY) is Røst Airport (RET), which is located only 19 miles (30 kilometers) WSW of VRY.
• Helikopter Service flew between Bodø Airport to Værøy and Røst—the island community further out from Værøy—with three weekly services from 1973.
• The airport was closed immediately after the accident.

Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):

• In the 1970s, Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33 relocated to NAS Key West from NAS Norfolk, Virginia with a mix of NC-121K, ERA-3B / TA-3B / KA-3B Skywarrior, EA-6A Intruder, EA-4F Skyhawk II, EP-3 Orion and the sole example of the EF-4B/EF-4J Phantom II aircraft.
• The closest airport to NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
• The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The nation's southernmost Naval Base proved to be an ideal year-round training facility with rapid access to the open sea lanes and ideal flying conditions for Naval Aviation.
• NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
• On 5 October 2001, Naval Air Station Key West was temporarily downgraded and redesignated as Naval Air Facility Key West, but on 1 April 2003, the air facility was upgraded and restored back to full air station status as Naval Air Station Key West.
• Naval Base Key West was reopened just prior to the United States' entry into World War II to support Navy destroyers, submarines, patrol craft and PBY flying boat and amphibious aircraft.
• Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West 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.