Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Columbus, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,820 miles (or 14,194 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 East London Airport and Columbus Air Force Base, 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 East London Airport and Columbus Air Force Base. 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 East London Airport (ELS):

• In 1965 the airport was again moved, this time to its present site, 9 km west of the city centre.
• The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
• The furthest airport from East London Airport (ELS) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,569 miles (18,618 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
• Passenger flights were undertaken by two de Havilland Moth planes on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays, weather permitting.
• Because of East London Airport's relatively low elevation of 436 feet, planes can take off or land at East London 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.
• East London Airport is an airport serving East London, a city in the Eastern Cape province on the southeast coast of South Africa.

Facts about Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• During World War II, the training load gradually increased until Columbus was graduating 195 pilots per month.
• Three years later, on 1 June 1972, Air Training Command discontinued the 3650th and activated the 14th Flying Training Wing in its place, assuming its equipment, personnel and mission.
• Columbus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 9 miles north of Columbus, Mississippi.
• Columbus AFB has been training Air Force pilots since World War II, and that mission continues today.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The Columbus flying school received its first aircraft, nine Beech AT-10s and twenty-one AT-8s in early 1942.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.
• When the war ended in 1945, the base strength had reached a peak of 2,300 enlisted men, 300 officers, and an average of 250 pilot cadets per class.
• The 454th Bombardment Wing completed more than 100 missions to South Vietnam without losing a single bomber to enemy aircraft fire.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".