Nonstop flight route between Abilene, Texas, United States and Mthatha, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), Abilene, Texas, United States and Mthatha Airport (UTT), Mthatha, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,450 miles (or 15,208 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 Dyess Air Force Base and Mthatha 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 Dyess Air Force Base and Mthatha 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 Dyess Air Force Base (DYS):

• On 25 March 1944, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt training for flight cadets was taken over by the 261st Army Air Force Base Unit.
• In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces built Tye Army Air Field, as it was popularly known, on the site of what is now known as Dyess AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Dyess Air Force Base", another name for DYS is "Dyess AFB".
• Units stationed at Dyess Air Force Base while the 5/517th was operational included SAC's 819th Strategic Aerospace Division, the 96th BW, and the 578th Strategic Missile Squadron.
• The furthest airport from Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,080 miles (17,831 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The base is named after Lt Col William Edwin Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas, who was captured by the Japanese on Bataan in April 1942.
• Dyess' first active combat unit was the 341st Bombardment Wing, which activated on 1 September 1955.
• The base is located in the southwest corner of Abilene, TX and is about 200 miles west of Dallas.
• The closest airport to Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DYS.
• With the end of the war, the base was declared inactive on 31 January 1946.

Facts about Mthatha Airport (UTT):

• Mthatha Airport (UTT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mthatha Airport (UTT) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,642 miles (18,736 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Mthatha Airport (UTT) is Margate Airport (MGH), which is located 109 miles (176 kilometers) ENE of UTT.