Nonstop flight route between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM), Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,618 miles (or 13,869 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 Sault Ste. Marie Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Sault Ste. Marie Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM):

• The airport hosts the flight-training campus for Sault College as well as the Soo Aviation flying school, resulting in frequent training flights in the vicinity.
• Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,093 miles (17,853 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of YAM.
• In 2010, the airport ranked 34th among Canadian airports for total number of aircraft movements, with 51,279 movements.
• Because of Sault Ste. Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 632 feet, planes can take off or land at Sault Ste. Marie 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 Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• On 6 November 1970, Douglas C-47B ZK-AXS of the Ministry of Transport was damaged beyond economic repair during a downwind simulated takeoff, when the undercarriage collapsed.
• Interest in providing commercial flights at Paraparaumu reignited because the Kapiti coast is one of New Zealand's fastest growing regional centres.
• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• The furthest airport from Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• The original runway dimensions were 1350 m x 45 m with an 85 m starter extension available on runway 16, nearly touching Kapiti Road, which runs past the aerodrome.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.
• In early 2007, the airport was sold by its first private owners to property developer Noel Robinson for NZ$40 million.
• Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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.
• Originally government-owned, the Kapiti Coast Airport was the greater Wellington region's main airport until Wellington International Airport re-opened in 1959.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.