Nonstop flight route between Homestead, Florida, United States and Rabaul, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST), Homestead, Florida, United States and Rabaul Airport (RAB), Rabaul, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,654 miles (or 13,928 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 Rabaul 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 Rabaul 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• During the Atlantic hurricane season, the 482th Fighter Wing routinely supports forward deployment of the Air Force Reserve's 403rd Wing from Keesler AFB, Mississippi, flying the WC-130 Hercules aircraft in the "Hurricane Hunters" weather reconnaissance mission.
• The host unit at Homestead is the 482d Fighter Wing assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command's Tenth Air Force.
• The 28th Bomb Squadron converted to the new Boeing B-52H Stratofortress aircraft in 1961, with the remaining squadrons of the 19th being transferred to various SAC Strategic Wings.
• On 25 October 1945, following an evaluation of the damage caused by the storm, officials announced that Homestead AAF would shut down, with a target date for complete closure of December 1945.
• In addition to being known as "Homestead Air Reserve Base", another name for HST is "Homestead ARB".

Facts about Rabaul Airport (RAB):

• The furthest airport from Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,780 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• A volcano eruption closed the airport for a day in 2006.
• Rabaul Airport (RAB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Rabaul Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Rabaul 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.
• In addition to being known as "Rabaul Airport", another name for RAB is "Tokua Airport".
• The closest airport to Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Namatanai Airport (ATN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) N of RAB.