How far is Durham, NC from Madison, WI?
| Straight-line distance1,195 km | 742miles |
|---|---|
| Estimated flight timegate to gate, averaged over both directions | 2 h 03 min |
| Driving distance, estimatedstraight line times the usual road circuity of 1.15 to 1.30 — not a routed figure | 854 – 965miles |
| Direction of travel | north-west from Durham |
| Durham, NCpopulation 257,636 | 35.994, -78.899 |
| Madison, WIpopulation 280,305 | 43.073, -89.401 |
Notes
- This is the straight line, and no road follows it. 742 miles is the great-circle distance — what an aircraft approximately flies and what a map measures with a ruler. Driving between the two is always further, typically 15 to 30 percent further across the US road network, and considerably more where a mountain range, a lake or a bay forces a detour. The 854–965 mile figure above applies that usual range; it is not a routed distance and it is not a substitute for one.
- The flight time is block time, not flying time. It allows half an hour for pushback, taxi, climb, descent and approach, then covers the distance at an average ground speed of 500 mph over a track about 4 percent longer than the straight line. That is why a 225-mile hop still takes near an hour: most of it is not cruise.
- Wind makes the two directions different. The jet stream runs west to east across North America, so the westbound leg of any transcontinental route is slower than the eastbound one — often by half an hour on a five-hour flight. The figure here is an average of the two, and a booking site will show you the real scheduled times, which also include the airline's padding.
- Airports are not city centres. These coordinates are the cities themselves. On short hops the drive to and from the airport, plus security, can exceed the flight — which is the arithmetic behind the rule of thumb that under about 300 miles, driving is often faster door to door.
Durham, NC to Madison, WI
742 miles in a straight line — 1,195 km — heading north-west from Durham.
That works out to roughly 2 h 03 min in the air gate to gate, and somewhere around 854 to 965 miles by road.
Why there are three different numbers here
The straight-line figure is the only exact one. It is the great-circle distance between the two sets of coordinates, and it is what a ruler on a map measures.
Everything else is derived from it and carries assumptions. The road figure applies the usual circuity of the US road network — real roads run 15 to 30 percent longer than the straight line, and much further where terrain intervenes. The flight time assumes half an hour of taxi, climb and descent plus cruise at an average ground speed, and takes no account of which direction you are flying or what the wind is doing.
Read the first number as a fact and the other two as ranges that happen to be printed as numbers.
Nearby sizes
Read more
- Flight Time from Atlanta to London: 8h 30m Eastbound, 9h 45m Coming BackThe route is the same 4,200 miles in both directions. The jet stream is not, and it is worth about seventy-five minutes.
- Best Time to Visit Costa Rica: February to April for Dry Weather, May and November for ValueThe country has two weather calendars running at once. Choosing a month without knowing which coast you are going to is choosing at random.
- Driving Distance from Dallas to Denver: About 880 Miles, 13 Hours, Two Long Days or One Hard OneThe straight line is about 660 miles. The road is about 880, and the difference is the whole reason a map distance is not a travel plan.
- Time Difference Between New York and Tokyo: 13 or 14 Hours, Depending on the MonthJapan does not observe daylight saving. New York does. That single asymmetry is why the offset is 14 hours in winter and 13 in summer.