Nonstop flight route between Columbus, New Mexico, United States and Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS), Columbus, New Mexico, United States and Ladysmith Airport (LAY), Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,898 miles (or 15,930 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 Columbus Municipal Airport and Ladysmith 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 Columbus Municipal Airport and Ladysmith 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 Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS):

• In addition to being known as "Columbus Municipal Airport", other names for CUS include "Historical Airport", "Modern Airfield" and "0NM0".
• Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Columbus Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,024 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CUS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CUS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Today, efforts are being made to restore part of the airport and re-establish it as an active facility for general aviation.
• The closest airport to Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Deming Municipal AirportDeming Army Airfield (DMN), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) N of CUS.
• After World War I, Columbus Airfield was used by the Army as part of their patrol flights along the Mexican border.
• Pershing crossed the border with 6,600 men a week after the Columbus raid.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,433 miles (18,400 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The fliers arrived on 20 April 1916, and found four new Curtiss N-8s, an export version of the JN-4, the latest model of the Jenny.
• The next use of the airfield was when the Department of Commerce refitted the facility as one of its network of Intermediate Landing Fields, which were established in the 1920s & 1930s to serve as emergency landing fields along commercial airways between major cities.
• The airport's operations ceased abruptly with the arrest of the notorious "Columbus Air Force" drug-running gang by the DEA in the late 1970s.
• Twelve R-2s were delivered to the squadron in May, but the planes, which had been very hastily constructed, were missing vital spare parts and had faulty wiring and leaky fuel tanks.

Facts about Ladysmith Airport (LAY):

• Ladysmith Airport (LAY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ladysmith Airport (LAY) is Mokhotlong Airport (MKH), which is located 64 miles (102 kilometers) SW of LAY.
• The furthest airport from Ladysmith Airport (LAY) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,789 miles (18,972 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.