Nonstop flight route between Peru, Indiana, United States and Mackay, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS), Peru, Indiana, United States and Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,956 miles (or 14,413 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 Grissom Air Reserve Base and Mackay 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 Grissom Air Reserve Base and Mackay 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 Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS):

• The United States Navy established Naval Air Station Bunker Hill in 1942 and closed it after World War II ended.
• Additionally, Grissom ARB is home to units from the U.S.
• Strategic Air Command on 1 June 1959 moved the 305th Bombardment Wing, Medium, from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida to Bunker Hill Air Force Base.
• The closest airport to Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Kokomo Municipal Airport (OKK), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of GUS.
• The 305th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy, provided tanker support to units involved in the United States invasion of Panama in December 1989.
• The furthest airport from Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,184 miles (17,998 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1975, the Air Force inactivated the 3d Post Attack Command and Control System of the 305th Air Refueling Wing and transferred specialized Boeing EC-135s to the 70th Air Refueling Squadron of the 305th Air Refueling Wing.
• Effective 1 October 1994, Grissom Air Force Base ceased active-duty operations, and the active Air Force transferred nearly half of the former base, including the runway, to the Air Force Reserve as Grissom Air Reserve Base.
• In addition to being known as "Grissom Air Reserve Base", another name for GUS is "Grissom ARS".

Facts about Mackay Airport (MKY):

• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• Because of Mackay Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Mackay 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.
• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• Moves to establish an airport at Mackay began in 1927, when Captain Ron Adair selected the site of the town commons for the construction of an aerodrome, and landed the first plane in Mackay there, his own Avro biplane.
• The furthest airport from Mackay Airport (MKY) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,973 miles (19,269 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Mackay Airport had grass landing strips until 1940, when the Commonwealth Government extended the airport's boundaries and upgraded the runways to unsealed gravel for use during World War II.
• In November 2008, Mackay Airport was sold to a private consortium to fund the development of Mackay Hospital.
• Mackay is a thriving mining, agricultural, industrial and regional business centre that also supports a growing tourism industry and is a gateway to the Whitsunday coast and islands.