Nonstop flight route between Del Rio, Texas, United States and Perth, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States and Perth Airport (PER), Perth, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,256 miles (or 16,505 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 Perth 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 Perth 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 Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF):

• 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.
• The Air Force transferred jurisdiction of the base to the Strategic Air Command on April 1, 1957 and the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing moved there from Turner Air Force Base, Georgia.
• 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.
• Aside from the reservoir outside of Del Rio for fishing and some lake diving, most forms of recreation are either in the town of Del Rio or across the border in Ciudad Acuña, however current DoD policy does not allow travel across the border for military personnel.
• There were 651 households out of which 56.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.8% were married couples living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.3% were non-families.
• The residential area of the base is a census-designated place, with a population of 1,569 at the 2010 census.
• Laughlin Air Force Base reopened on May 1, 1952.
• 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.

Facts about Perth Airport (PER):

• Perth Airport (PER) has 2 runways.
• Perth Airport handled 13,664,394 passengers last year.
• The Guildford Aerodrome as it was then known was at best only a basic airfield.
• Because of Perth Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Perth 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.
• The furthest airport from Perth Airport (PER) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Perth Airport (meaning Perth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,938 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.
• The closest airport to Perth Airport (PER) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSW of PER.
• Site selection and preparation of the original plans was undertaken by Mr N M Fricker of the Department of Civil Aviation.
• The removal of the steel structure made way for the construction of an entirely new combined domestic and international passenger terminal, constructed on the northern side of the airfield.
• The airport commemorated its 60th anniversary in 2004, with an event that opened the new Taxiway Sierra, a new taxiway supporting larger aircraft such as the Boeing 747, Airbus A340, and potentially the Airbus A380 to operate at the airport.