Nonstop flight route between Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States and Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Patrick Air Force Base (COF), Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States and Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL), Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,406 miles (or 15,138 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 Patrick Air Force Base and Illawarra Regional 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 Patrick Air Force Base and Illawarra Regional Airport. 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 Patrick Air Force Base (COF):

• The Air Force Technical Applications Center is a tenant command headquartered at Patrick AFB.
• The furthest airport from Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,550 miles (18,587 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• NAS Banana River was transferred to the United States Air Force on September 1, 1948 and renamed the Joint Long Range Proving Ground on June 10, 1949.
• Three months after World War II, on December 5, 1945, NAS Banana River had an ancillary role in the disappearance of Flight 19, a formation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, which had departed NAS Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a routine over-water training mission.
• In addition to being known as "Patrick Air Force Base", another name for COF is "Patrick AFB".
• The 9/11 attacks prompted the Air Force to close the heavily used 4-lane State Road A1A, which ran immediately in front of the AFTAC Headquarters building.
• The closest airport to Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Merritt Island Airport (COI), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NNW of COF.

Facts about Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL):

• Despite the length of the runway being sufficient for operating large passenger jets such as the Boeing 737, the pavements are currently only suitable for aircraft with a Maximum Takeoff Weight not exceeding 25,000 kilograms.
• Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) has 2 runways.
• Because of Illawarra Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Illawarra Regional 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 addition to being known as "Illawarra Regional Airport", another name for WOL is "Wollongong Airport".
• The closest airport to Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) is Camden Aerodrome (CDU), which is located 36 miles (59 kilometers) N of WOL.
• As early as the 1920s, aviators had used fields in the Albion Park area for joy flights and demonstrations.
• The furthest airport from Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is nearly antipodal to Illawarra Regional Airport (meaning Illawarra Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Horta International Airport), and is located 12,162 miles (19,573 kilometers) away in Horta, Azores, Portugal.