Nonstop flight route between Whangarei, New Zealand and Patuxent River, Maryland, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WRE to NHK:
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- About this route
- WRE Airport Information
- NHK Airport Information
- Facts about WRE
- Facts about NHK
- Map of Nearest Airports to WRE
- List of Nearest Airports to WRE
- Map of Furthest Airports from WRE
- List of Furthest Airports from WRE
- 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 Whangarei Airport (WRE), Whangarei, New Zealand and Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,628 miles (or 13,886 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 Whangarei Airport and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, 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 Whangarei Airport and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WRE / NZWR |
| Airport Name: | Whangarei Airport |
| Location: | Whangarei, New Zealand |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°46'5"S by 174°21'54"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Whangarei District Airport |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 133 feet (41 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WRE |
| More Information: | WRE 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 Whangarei Airport (WRE):
- The airport has a modern air-conditioned terminal building with free wifi and a cafeteria, which services Air New Zealand's subsidiaries, Eagle Airways and Air Nelson.
- This upgrade allowed Air New Zealand, through its subsidary airline Air Nelson, start trialing flights with their new Bombardier Q300 aircraft.
- Private jets are also catered for when they arrive about twice a year, as well as larger group charters which are fairly common.
- The 1970s saw an increase in domestic travel from Whangarei, so a new airport terminal was built on the northern side of the main runway to cater for this.
- Because of Whangarei Airport's relatively low elevation of 133 feet, planes can take off or land at Whangarei 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.
- The furthest airport from Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), which is nearly antipodal to Whangarei Airport (meaning Whangarei Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in Tangier, Morocco.
- The closest airport to Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WSW of WRE.
- Whangarei Airport (WRE) has 2 runways.
Facts about Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):
- 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.
- Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
- 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.
- In addition to its role in testing naval aircraft, during the 1950s to 1970s Patuxent River served as an operational base for a Transport Squadron - VR-1, a TACAMO squadron - VQ-4, Airborne Training Unit Atlantic - AEWTULANT, and VW-11, VW-13 AN VW-15 and a number of Patrol Squadrons including VP-8, VP-44, VP-49, VP-24, VP-30 and VP-68.
- A duel of sorts between two of Maryland's top Democrats, U.S.
- In 1937, the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics sought to consolidate aviation test programs, previously being conducted at several stations, including Dahlgren and Norfolk, the Washington Navy Yard, Naval Air Station Anacostia in Washington, D.C., and the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 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.
- A highway extension to the new air station was required by the project—250,000 tons of material were transported by either truck or water routes during a year of construction.
