Nonstop flight route between Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Valdosta, Georgia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,303 miles (or 13,363 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 Moody 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 Moody 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):

• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea.
• On 26 July, an Imperial Japanese Navy special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airfield, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about Moody Air Force Base (VAD):

• In addition to being known as "Moody Air Force Base", another name for VAD is "Moody AFB".
• Shortly after the Korean War began on 25 June 1950, Air Training Command took over most combat crew training, thereby relieving operational commands of much of their training burden and allowing them to concentrate on their combat mission.
• Construction got underway on 28 July 1941 for a twin-engine advanced training base with accommodations for 4,100 men.
• The 307 FS was inactivated on 31 August 1995 when F-16 operations at Moody were reduced in size.
• The closest airport to Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Valdosta Regional AirportValdosta Army Auxiliary Airfield (VLD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) SSW of VAD.
• To inject more realism into the training, ATC made arrangements with Strategic Air Command to allow instructor pilots to fly intercept missions against SAC bombers with F-86D Sabre, With the addition of interceptor crew training and the acquisition of interceptor aircraft, HQ USAF decided effective 20 October 1953 to assign ATC responsibility for supporting Air Defense Command's interceptor forces.
• Moody AFB is the home of the 23d Wing of the Air Combat Command.
• In 1961, Foreign Pilot Training was transferred to Moody from the closing of the Graham Air Base contract pilot school in Marianna, Florida.
• The furthest airport from Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Kalbarri Airport (KAX), which is located 11,363 miles (18,286 kilometers) away in Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia.
• While on standby status, the airfield was redesignated as Moody Air Force Base on 13 January 1948.