Nonstop flight route between Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and Mercury, Nevada, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BWU to DRA:
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- About this route
- BWU Airport Information
- DRA Airport Information
- Facts about BWU
- Facts about DRA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BWU
- List of Nearest Airports to BWU
- Map of Furthest Airports from BWU
- List of Furthest Airports from BWU
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRA
- List of Nearest Airports to DRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRA
- List of Furthest Airports from DRA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Bankstown Airport (BWU), Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and Desert Rock Airport (DRA), Mercury, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,708 miles (or 12,405 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 Bankstown Airport and Desert Rock Airport, 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 Bankstown Airport and Desert Rock Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BWU / YSBK |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 33°55'29"S by 150°59'17"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Bankstown Airport Ltd. |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 34 feet (10 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BWU |
| More Information: | BWU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | DRA / KDRA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Mercury, Nevada, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 36°37'9"N by 116°1'58"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Mercury, Nevada |
| Airport Type: | United States Department of Energy/Nevada |
| Elevation: | 1010 feet (308 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DRA |
| More Information: | DRA Maps & Info |
Facts about Bankstown Airport (BWU):
- Bankstown Airport is owned by the Federal Government and leased by Bankstown Airport Limited, a subsidiary of BAC Airports Pty Limited, whose ultimate shareholders include JF Infrastructure, Colonial First State and Australian Super.
- The furthest airport from Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Bankstown Airport (meaning Bankstown Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
- On 15 September 1982, a Douglas C-47, stored in the open, was damaged when the pilot of a light aircraft committed suicide by deliberately crashing it nearby.
- On 26 September 2011, a Cessna 152 registered VH-HCE and operated by Basair Pty Ltd experienced total power loss due to fuel contamination with water.
- Runway 11C has a straight-in RNAV approach procedure.
- Selective taxiways and aprons are rated at 20 tonnes and limited to 50 tonnes MTOW.
- In addition to being known as "Bankstown Airport", another name for BWU is "Sydney/Bankstown Airport".
- Because of Bankstown Airport's relatively low elevation of 34 feet, planes can take off or land at Bankstown 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.
- In the late 1970s Hawker de Havilland relocated their Lidcombe plant to Bankstown Airport.
- When General MacArthur arrived in Australia, during World War II, Bankstown Airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces, and was established as a key strategic air base to support the war effort in 1942.
- Bankstown Airport (BWU) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of BWU.
Facts about Desert Rock Airport (DRA):
- In addition to being known as "Desert Rock Airport", another name for DRA is "NV65".
- The furthest airport from Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,271 miles (18,139 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Desert Rock Airport (DRA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Creech Air Force Base Indian Springs Auxiliary Army Airfield (1961) Indian Springs Air Force Base (1951) Indian Springs Army Airfield Indian Springs Airport eponyms: Indian Springs, Nevada &Wilbur L. Creech[1] (INS), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of DRA.
