Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Manihi, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Manihi Airport (XMH), Manihi, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,428 miles (or 15,173 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 Manihi 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 Manihi 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):

• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• 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.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• It was seized by the Germans in late May 1940 during the early part of the Battle of France.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• 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.
• After the construction of a military airfield at Denain, the airfield was reactivated by the Luftwaffe, stationing Jagdgeschwader 3, a day fighter-interceptor unit assigned to the "Defense of the Reich" campaign against the American Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany.
• 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.
• Denain Airport began as a pre-World War II airport in France, most likely with a grass runway and several support buildings and a hangar.

Facts about Manihi Airport (XMH):

• In addition to being known as "Manihi Airport", another name for XMH is "Aérodrome de Manihi".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.