Nonstop flight route between Manihi, French Polynesia and Valdosta, Georgia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Manihi Airport (XMH), Manihi, French Polynesia and Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,217 miles (or 8,396 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 Manihi Airport and Moody 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 Manihi Airport and Moody 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 Manihi Airport (XMH):

• Manihi Airport (XMH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Manihi Airport (XMH) is Ahe Airport (AHE), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) W of XMH.
• In addition to being known as "Manihi Airport", another name for XMH is "Aérodrome de Manihi".
• The furthest airport from Manihi Airport (XMH) is Khartoum International Airport (KRT), which is nearly antipodal to Manihi Airport (meaning Manihi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Khartoum International Airport), and is located 12,315 miles (19,819 kilometers) away in Khartoum, Sudan.
• Because of Manihi Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Manihi 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.

Facts about Moody Air Force Base (VAD):

• The furthest airport from Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Kalbarri Airport (KAX), which is located 11,363 miles (18,286 kilometers) away in Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia.
• With the arrival of the TF-102 Delta Dagger in Air Defense Command in 1960, Moody ended interceptor pilot and crew training and became one of ATC's new undergraduate pilot training schools.
• The closest airport to Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Valdosta Regional AirportValdosta Army Auxiliary Airfield (VLD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) SSW of VAD.
• The base had its beginning in 1940 when a group of concerned Valdosta and Lowndes County citizens began searching for a way to assist the expanding defense program.
• To inject more realism into the training, ATC made arrangements with Strategic Air Command to allow instructor pilots to fly intercept missions against SAC bombers with F-86D Sabre, With the addition of interceptor crew training and the acquisition of interceptor aircraft, HQ USAF decided effective 20 October 1953 to assign ATC responsibility for supporting Air Defense Command's interceptor forces.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB, Florida by Hurricane Andrew, the 31st Fighter Wing's 307th and 308th Fighter Squadrons were initially evacuated to Moody AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• Under SAC, Moody was assigned to the Second Air Force and the 40th Air Division.
• On 1 September 1951, Moody was formally transferred from SAC to ATC.
• In addition to being known as "Moody Air Force Base", another name for VAD is "Moody AFB".