Nonstop flight route between Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCB to ASI:
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- About this route
- RCB Airport Information
- ASI Airport Information
- Facts about RCB
- Facts about ASI
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCB
- List of Nearest Airports to RCB
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCB
- List of Furthest Airports from RCB
- Map of Nearest Airports to ASI
- List of Nearest Airports to ASI
- Map of Furthest Airports from ASI
- List of Furthest Airports from ASI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,341 miles (or 5,377 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 Richards Bay Airport and RAF Ascension, 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 Richards Bay Airport and RAF Ascension. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCB / FARB |
Airport Name: | Richards Bay Airport |
Location: | Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°44'26"S by 32°5'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | uMhlathuze Local Municipality |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 109 feet (33 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RCB |
More Information: | RCB Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ASI / FHAW |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena |
GPS Coordinates: | 7°58'9"S by 14°23'38"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from ASI |
More Information: | ASI Maps & Info |
Facts about Richards Bay Airport (RCB):
- Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) NNE of RCB.
- Because of Richards Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Richards Bay 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 Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):
- In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
- The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.
- Wideawake Airfield was a US installation built in 1943 by arrangement with the British government.
- RAF Ascension Island is also the refuelling point for the Ministry of Defence's South Atlantic Air Bridge flights to RAF Mount Pleasant, on the Falkland Islands, from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, in the UK.
- The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.
- The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
- The RAF presence on Ascension is backed up by United States Air Force personnel, who contribute a similar number of service personnel to ensure the effective running of the station, under the command of Captain Eduard Rodriguez, who is responsible to the RAF Station Commander.