Nonstop flight route between Hluhluwe, South Africa and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), Hluhluwe, South Africa and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,508 miles (or 13,693 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 Hluhluwe Airport and MacDill 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 Hluhluwe Airport and MacDill 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 Hluhluwe Airport (HLW):

• The closest airport to Hluhluwe Airport (HLW) is Richards Bay Airport (RCB), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) SSW of HLW.
• The furthest airport from Hluhluwe Airport (HLW) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,716 miles (18,855 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Hluhluwe Airport's relatively low elevation of 249 feet, planes can take off or land at Hluhluwe 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.
• Hluhluwe Airport (HLW) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
• Air defense of the Tampa Bay area was the mission of the 53d Pursuit Group, established at MacDIll on 15 January 1941.
• MacDill AFB was established in 1939 as Southeast Air Base, Tampa.
• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• After the war in Europe had broken out in September 1939, fears of Nazi U-Boats attacking American shipping in the Gulf of Mexico was the concern of the War Department.
• MacDill has a total of 38 tenant units according to the official MacDill website."MacDill Air Force Base Units".
• The base also supports the large military retiree community in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding environs.
• In late 1943, when Second Air Force began transitioning to B-29 Superfortress training, the B-17 mission returned to MacDill which continued through the end of World War II.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.