Nonstop flight route between Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,388 miles (or 13,499 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 Buka Island Airport and MacDill Air Force Base, 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 Buka Island Airport and MacDill Air Force Base. 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 Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka Island 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 closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea.
• Buka Airport is an airport serving Buka Island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.

Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• MacDill AFB was established in 1939 as Southeast Air Base, Tampa.
• In late 1943, when Second Air Force began transitioning to B-29 Superfortress training, the B-17 mission returned to MacDill which continued through the end of World War II.
• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
• In addition MacDill provided transitional training in the B-17 Flying Fortress.
• The host unit at MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Mobility Wing, assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force.
• Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".