Nonstop flight route between Junction City, Kansas, United States and Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI), Junction City, Kansas, United States and O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,165 miles (or 14,750 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 Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base and O. R. Tambo International 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 Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base and O. R. Tambo International 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 Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI):

• Early in 1946 the detachment of the 69th Group was withdrawn and the 72d Squadron was reduced to a two-man cadre, so that by late April only the 167th Squadron remained.
• With the establishment of the United States Air Force in September 1947, the name of Marchall was changed to Marshall Air Force Base.
• In addition to being known as "Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base", another name for FRI is "Marshall AAF".
• Late in 1946 the Army Cavalry School and the Cavalry Intelligence School at Fort Riley were inactivated and the Ground General School was established there.
• A base detachment activated in January 1941 to operate the field was designated in January 1942 as the 305th Air Base Squadron, but in June it was renamed the 305th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron.
• When the United States entered World War II Marshall possessed two hangars and three unsurfaced landing strips, the biggest strip being 3,700 feet long.
• The closest airport to Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI) is Manhattan Regional Airport (MHK), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NE of FRI.
• The furthest airport from Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,654 miles (17,146 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• One of the oldest military airfields in the United States, Marshall Army Airfield at Fort Riley, made its first appearance in history in November 1912 as the site of the first attempts in the United States to direct artillery fire from an airplane.
• Big news arrived on 21 July 1955, with receipt of a directive to activate the first Army Aviation Unit Training Command at Fort Riley.
• Marshall was much used as a convenient stop on cross-country flights.
• Several units besides the 2d Composite Squadron spent some time at Marshall during the war.

Facts about O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB):

• In November 2009 Air France announced the scheduled flights of their Airbus A380 into Johannesburg's O.R.
• The furthest airport from O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,979 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• It was formerly officially known as Johannesburg International Airport and before that as Jan Smuts International Airport after South Africa's internationally renowned statesman by that name.
• On 10 January 2013 the airport's ICAO code was changed from FAJS to FAOR.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• Because of O. R. Tambo International Airport's high elevation of 5,558 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JNB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JNB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Rand Airport (QRA), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SW of JNB.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• Critics noted the considerable expense involved in renaming the airport, and the decision to use a politician as the name would be obscure, confusing and in some instances, offensive.