Nonstop flight route between Hoedspruit, South Africa and Alton, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), Hoedspruit, South Africa and St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN), Alton, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,892 miles (or 14,310 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit and St. Louis Regional 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit and St. Louis Regional 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS):

• The furthest airport from Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,932 miles (19,202 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) has 2 runways.
• Air Force Base Hoedspruit is an airbase of the South African Air Force.
• The closest airport to Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNE of HDS.
• The base motto is Pro Nostrorum Pace.
• South African Express operates daily flights to/from Johannesburg - OR Tambo International Airport and three flights a week to/from Cape Town.
• The base is teeming with wildlife, being surrounded by the 25 km² AFB Hoedspruit Game Reserve.

Facts about St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN):

• The closest airport to St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) is Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) WSW of ALN.
• Today a fair amount of air traffic and the Direct TV blimp comes for Cardinals playoffs, as Lambert's airport cannot take the blimp.
• Its operations are paid for by an airport taxation district created in 1946, which collects taxes from property owners in the Madison County townships of Alton, Wood River, Foster and Fort Russell.
• West Star Aviation is the largest fixed base operations company at the airport.
• St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of St. Louis Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 544 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Louis 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.
• Civic Memorial Airport opened in 1946 and received its current name in 1984.