Nonstop flight route between Del Rio, Texas, United States and Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DLF to BKY:
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- About this route
- DLF Airport Information
- BKY Airport Information
- Facts about DLF
- Facts about BKY
- Map of Nearest Airports to DLF
- List of Nearest Airports to DLF
- Map of Furthest Airports from DLF
- List of Furthest Airports from DLF
- Map of Nearest Airports to BKY
- List of Nearest Airports to BKY
- Map of Furthest Airports from BKY
- List of Furthest Airports from BKY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States and Kuvumu Airport (BKY), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,642 miles (or 13,908 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 Laughlin Air Force Base and Kuvumu 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 Laughlin Air Force Base and Kuvumu Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DLF / KDLF |
Airport Name: | Laughlin Air Force Base |
Location: | Del Rio, Texas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°21'33"N by 100°46'41"W |
View all routes: | Routes from DLF |
More Information: | DLF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BKY / FZMA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
GPS Coordinates: | 2°18'32"S by 28°48'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5643 feet (1,720 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BKY |
More Information: | BKY Maps & Info |
Facts about Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF):
- The closest airport to Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Del Rio International Airport (DRT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of DLF.
- The furthest airport from Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,091 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Another 4080th pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., perished when his U-2 was hit by shrapnel from a Soviet-made SA-2 on October 22, 1962 while overflying Cuba from McCoy AFB.
- Laughlin U-2s were among the first to provide photographic evidence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba in 1962 when 4080th U-2 pilot Major Steve Heyser flew his U-2C over Cuba after taking off from Edwards AFB, California.
- In 1961, Headquarters US Air Force notified Laughlin officials their mission would expand to again include an Air Training Command undergraduate pilot training program.
- As of the census of 2014, there were 2,225 people, 651 households, and 570 families residing on the base.
Facts about Kuvumu Airport (BKY):
- Kuvumu Airport (BKY) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Kuvumu Airport (BKY) is Goma Airport (GOM), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) NE of BKY.
- The furthest airport from Kuvumu Airport (BKY) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Kuvumu Airport (meaning Kuvumu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,011 miles (19,330 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
- In addition to being known as "Kuvumu Airport", other names for BKY include "Bukavu Kuvumu Airport" and "Kuvumu Airport (Bukavu)".
- Because of Kuvumu Airport's high elevation of 5,643 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BKY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BKY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.