Nonstop flight route between Enid, Oklahoma, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vance Air Force Base (END), Enid, Oklahoma, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,408 miles (or 11,922 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 Vance Air Force Base and Buka Island 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 Vance Air Force Base and Buka Island 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 Vance Air Force Base (END):

• The 71st Flying Training Wing aims to train world-class pilots for the United States Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and its Allies and to prepare Air Expeditionary Force warriors to deploy in support of the combatant commanders.
• The closest airport to Vance Air Force Base (END) is Enid Woodring Regional Airport (WDG), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ENE of END.
• The first aircraft flown at Vance was the BT-13A, followed shortly by the BT-15.
• The furthest airport from Vance Air Force Base (END) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,825 miles (17,422 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The base was reactivated on January 13, 1948, and its name changed to Enid Air Force Base, as one of the pilot training bases within the Air Training Command.
• In addition to being known as "Vance Air Force Base", another name for END is "Vance ANGB".

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka Island 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 closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.