Nonstop flight route between Homestead, Florida, United States and Mackay, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST), Homestead, Florida, United States and Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,296 miles (or 14,960 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 Homestead 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 Homestead 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 Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST):

• The 379th Bomb Wing was activated at Homestead on 1 November 1955.
• Homestead ARB was established in 1942 as Homestead Army Airfield.
• The furthest airport from Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,568 miles (18,616 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Within a year, the 19th Bomb Wing was transferred to Homestead on 1 June 1956 from Pinecastle AFB, Florida.
• As the need for trained transport pilots grew during 1943, officials in Washington decided to beef up the training program at Homestead.
• Homestead Air Reserve Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 6 miles east-northeast of Homestead, Florida.
• In the early 1950s, as the Korean War was winding down, defense officials once again looked toward Homestead with an eye at making the site a key player in continental defense.
• Homestead Airfield began as a United States Army Air Forces facility on 16 September 1942 when the Army Air Forces assumed control of an isolated airstrip located about a mile inland from the shore of Biscayne Bay.
• The closest airport to Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST) is Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport (TMB), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNW of HST.
• In addition to being known as "Homestead Air Reserve Base", another name for HST is "Homestead ARB".
• On 15 September 1945, three years to the day of the base's founding, a massive hurricane barreled through, sending winds of up to 145 mph whistling through the cinderblock buildings.

Facts about Mackay Airport (MKY):

• 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 handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
• 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.
• In 1941, the Commonwealth Government took control of the airport from the Mackay City Council, and built a new passenger terminal in 1953.
• 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.