Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Mount Hagen Airport (HGU), Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,622 miles (or 13,876 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport and Mount Hagen Airport, 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport and Mount Hagen Airport. 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• The furthest airport from Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,987 miles (19,291 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• After being used for a brief time as a storage depot for excess aircraft after the war ended by Air Technical Service Command, the Americans turned the airfield back over to French authorities on 25 June 1945.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled.
• C-47 Skytrain transports moved in and out of the American controlled airfield almost immediately after the runway was repaired, supplying the front line forces with the necessary materiel to support their advance.
• Because of Valenciennes-Denain Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Valenciennes-Denain 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 wartime air base is still evident with the 5500' concrete NE/SW runway remaining, complete with patched bomb craters and expansion joints allowing grass to grow between the concrete pads.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• In addition, a reconnaissance unit, Aufklärungsgruppe 12 was assigned to Denain in October 1940 with Henschel Hs 126 twin-seat light observation planes.

Facts about Mount Hagen Airport (HGU):

• Mount Hagen Airport (HGU) has 2 runways.
• Because of Mount Hagen Airport's high elevation of 5,388 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HGU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HGU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Mount Hagen Airport (HGU) is Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), which is located 11,745 miles (18,902 kilometers) away in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Mount Hagen Airport (HGU) is Chimbu Airport (CMU), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) ESE of HGU.