Nonstop flight route between Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bankstown Airport (BWU), Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ), Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,391 miles (or 13,504 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 Santa Cruz 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 Bankstown Airport and Santa Cruz 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 Bankstown Airport (BWU):

• Bankstown Airport was originally planned in 1929.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of BWU.
• 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.
• Runway 11C has a straight-in RNAV approach procedure.
• The terminal plays host to numerous events year round such as the annual Sydney Aviation Model Show.
• Bankstown Airport operates 24 hours a day, with limitations placed on night circuit training.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Bankstown Airport", another name for BWU is "Sydney/Bankstown Airport".
• The Australian Aviation Museum is located at Bankstown Airport and was opened in February, 1994

Facts about Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ):

• As a consequence to the Hindenburg disaster on 6 May 1937 at Lakehurst Air Naval Station in New Jersey, USA, the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin requested to the Brazilian Government on 17 June 1937 the suspension of services.
• Because of Santa Cruz Air Force Base's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Cruz Air Force Base 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 base is located 54 km from Rio de Janeiro downtown in the district of Santa Cruz.
• Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The base was originally called Bartolomeu de Gusmão Airport and it was constructed to handle the operations with the rigid airships Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Cruz Air Force Base", another name for SNZ is "Base Aérea de Santa Cruz".
• The closest airport to Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ) is Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) ENE of SNZ.
• The furthest airport from Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Cruz Air Force Base (meaning Santa Cruz Air Force Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,093 miles (19,462 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.