Nonstop flight route between Hoedspruit, South Africa and Falkland Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from HDS to MPN:
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- About this route
- HDS Airport Information
- MPN Airport Information
- Facts about HDS
- Facts about MPN
- Map of Nearest Airports to HDS
- List of Nearest Airports to HDS
- Map of Furthest Airports from HDS
- List of Furthest Airports from HDS
- Map of Nearest Airports to MPN
- List of Nearest Airports to MPN
- Map of Furthest Airports from MPN
- List of Furthest Airports from MPN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), Hoedspruit, South Africa and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,891 miles (or 7,871 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit and RAF Mount Pleasant, 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit and RAF Mount Pleasant. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HDS / FAHS |
Airport Name: | Air Force Base Hoedspruit |
Location: | Hoedspruit, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 24°21'16"S by 31°3'1"E |
Operator/Owner: | South African Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military and Civil |
Elevation: | 1742 feet (531 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from HDS |
More Information: | HDS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MPN / EGYP |
Airport Name: | RAF Mount Pleasant |
Location: | Falkland Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°49'22"S by 58°26'49"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from MPN |
More Information: | MPN Maps & Info |
Facts about Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS):
- The base gained international media attention in 2000, when it hosted the United States Air Force's rescue contingent as part of Operation Atlas Response, the mission to provide rescue and humanitarian support to areas of Mozambique devastated by the severe flooding caused by Cyclone Eline.
- The closest airport to Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNE of HDS.
- A civil airport terminal, known as the Eastgage Airport, was established at the southern end of the airfield in the early 1990s.
- Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,932 miles (19,202 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- South African Express operates daily flights to/from Johannesburg - OR Tambo International Airport and three flights a week to/from Cape Town.
Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):
- There is also a Joint Communications Unit providing the electronic warfare and command and control systems for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.
- On 2 April 2012, an Uruguayan air company, Air Class Líneas Aéreas, gained permission from the Uruguayan Ministry of Defence to start a commercial flight to the Falkland Islands.
- The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
- Flights of Phantoms were rotated through the airfield until 1992 when they were replaced with Tornado F3s.
- The furthest airport from RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Mount Pleasant (meaning RAF Mount Pleasant is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mohe Gulian Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China.
- The British government felt that Stanley airfield was not the best option for a large, permanent station and decided to construct a new RAF station and make it the centrepiece of considerably strengthened air defences for the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.