Nonstop flight route between Alexander City, Alabama, United States and Butterworth, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX), Alexander City, Alabama, United States and RMAF Butterworth (UTE), Butterworth, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,752 miles (or 15,695 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 Thomas C. Russell Field and RMAF Butterworth, 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 Thomas C. Russell Field and RMAF Butterworth. 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 Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX):

• The closest airport to Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX) is Sharpe FieldTuskegee Army Airfield (TGE), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) SSE of ALX.
• The furthest airport from Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,222 miles (18,060 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Thomas C. Russell Field's relatively low elevation of 686 feet, planes can take off or land at Thomas C. Russell Field 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.
• This airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 and 2009–2013, both of which categorized it as a general aviation facility.
• Thomas C. Russell Field (ALX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about RMAF Butterworth (UTE):

• During the Malayan Emergency that was to last from 1948 to 1960, RAF as well as RAAF and RNZAF units stationed at the airfield played an active role from 1950 in helping to curb the communist insurgency in the jungles of Malaya by attacking suspected hideouts and harassing the communist guerrillas.
• On 30 June 1988, the airfield was handed over by RAAF to the Royal Malaysian Air Force and was renamed as RMAF Station Butterworth.
• The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to RMAF Butterworth (meaning RMAF Butterworth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
• RAF Butterworth was officially opened in October 1941, as a Royal Air Force station which was a part of the British defence plan for defending the Malayan Peninsula against an imminent threat of invasion by the Imperial Japanese forces during World War II.
• Because of RMAF Butterworth's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at RMAF Butterworth 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 closest airport to RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is RMAF Butterworth (BWH), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of UTE.
• RMAF Butterworth (UTE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", other names for UTE include "TUDM Butterworth", "BWH" and "WMKB".