Nonstop flight route between Grafton, New South Wales, Australia and Agana, Guam:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN), Grafton, New South Wales, Australia and Andersen Air Force Base (UAM), Agana, Guam would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,043 miles (or 4,897 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 Clarence Valley Regional Airport and Andersen 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 Clarence Valley Regional Airport and Andersen 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 Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN):

• Because of Clarence Valley Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 110 feet, planes can take off or land at Clarence Valley 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.
• Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN) is Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) S of GFN.
• The furthest airport from Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 11,928 miles (19,196 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.

Facts about Andersen Air Force Base (UAM):

• Andersen AFB was established in 1944 as North Field and is named for Brigadier General James Roy Andersen.
• With the start of Operation Arc Light in June 1965, B-52s and KC-135s began regular bombing missions over Vietnam, and continued in that capacity until 1973, with a break between August 1970 and early 1972.
• At Andersen, the wing assumed responsibility for administering two active and one semi-active bases plus an assortment of communication, weather, radar, rescue and other facilities and units including the Marianas Air Material Area, a wing size unit.
• The furthest airport from Andersen Air Force Base (UAM) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Andersen Air Force Base (meaning Andersen Air Force Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Andersen Air Force Base (UAM) is Guam International Airport (GUM), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) SW of UAM.
• Andersen saw an end to its role in rotational duties when the B-47 was phased out and replaced by the B-52 Stratofortress.
• Guam was considered as being ideal to establish air bases to launch B-29 Superfortress operations against the Japanese Home Islands.
• B-29 Superfortress missions from North Field were attacks against strategic targets in Japan, initially operating in daylight and at high altitude to bomb factories, refineries, and other objectives.