Nonstop flight route between Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States and Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM), Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States and Bankstown Airport (BWU), Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,791 miles (or 14,148 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 Fort Smith Regional Airport and Bankstown 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 Fort Smith Regional Airport and Bankstown 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 Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM):

• Air Traffic services are provided by the Federal Aviation Administration from an Air Traffic Control Tower and TRACON.
• The furthest airport from Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,765 miles (17,324 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) is Robert S. Kerr Airport (RKR), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSW of FSM.
• Since 1953, FSM has been the proud home to Fort Smith Air National Guard Station and the 188th Fighter Wing, an Air Combat Command -gained unit of the Arkansas Air National Guard.
• Because of Fort Smith Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 469 feet, planes can take off or land at Fort Smith Regional 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.

Facts about Bankstown Airport (BWU):

• Because of Bankstown Airport's relatively low elevation of 34 feet, planes can take off or land at Bankstown 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 airport's master plan was approved in March 2005 by the Minister for Transport and Regional Services.
• Bankstown has its own dedicated air traffic control tower, operated by Airservices Australia, and uses Class D airspace procedures.
• In addition to being known as "Bankstown Airport", another name for BWU is "Sydney/Bankstown Airport".
• One of its hangars is being used for the filming of Top Gear Australia, however none of the track sections were filmed at Bankstown as it is too busy.
• When General MacArthur arrived in Australia, during World War II, Bankstown Airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces, and was established as a key strategic air base to support the war effort in 1942.
• The furthest airport from Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Bankstown Airport (meaning Bankstown Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of BWU.
• Bankstown Airport (BWU) has 3 runways.