Nonstop flight route between Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and Patuxent River, Maryland, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BWU to NHK:
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- About this route
- BWU Airport Information
- NHK Airport Information
- Facts about BWU
- Facts about NHK
- 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 NHK
- List of Nearest Airports to NHK
- Map of Furthest Airports from NHK
- List of Furthest Airports from NHK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Bankstown Airport (BWU), Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,803 miles (or 15,776 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River, 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River. 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: | NHK / KNHK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Patuxent River, Maryland, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°17'9"N by 76°24'42"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Naval Air Station |
Elevation: | 39 feet (12 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NHK |
More Information: | NHK Maps & Info |
Facts about Bankstown Airport (BWU):
- Selective taxiways and aprons are rated at 20 tonnes and limited to 50 tonnes MTOW.
- One of its hangars is being used for the filming of Top Gear Australia, however none of the track sections were filmed at Bankstown as it is too busy.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of BWU.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Bankstown Airport", another name for BWU is "Sydney/Bankstown Airport".
- During the war, several "dummy houses" were built to make Bankstown Airport and its surrounds appear as a farm, hangars were disguised as houses with fake roads to further confuse the enemy.
- Bankstown Airport (BWU) has 3 runways.
- 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.
Facts about Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):
- By 1965, reconnaissance Squadron VQ-4, based at NAS Patuxent River, began using Lockheed C-130s equipped with special communications equipment to perform their around-the-clock Take Charge and Move Out mission.
- Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
- The base was also was used as a filming location for the Harrison Ford film Random Hearts.
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Employing some 7,000 at its peak of construction, the area had a Gold Rush "boom town" feel as local residents were joined by workers from all over the country, eager to get on the high-paying jobs on station.
- The onset of American involvement in World War II spurred establishment of the new air station.Rear Admiral John Henry Towers, Chief of Bureau of Aeronautics, requested approval and authorization to begin construction on December 22, 1941.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
- Because of Naval Air Station Patuxent River's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is St. Mary's County Regional Airport (LTW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of NHK.
- The station was formally commissioned "U.S.