Nonstop flight route between Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Columbus, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wilpena Pound (HWK), Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,720 miles (or 15,643 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 Wilpena Pound and Columbus 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 Wilpena Pound and Columbus 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 Wilpena Pound (HWK):

• The closest airport to Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Leigh Creek Airport (LGH), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) N of HWK.
• The highest peak in the Pound, also the highest of the Flinders Ranges, is St Mary Peak, on the north-eastern side.
• After the immense labour of constructing a road through the torturous Wilpena Gap, they built a small homestead inside the Pound, which still stands today, and cleared some open patches in the thick scrub of the interior.
• The furthest airport from Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,642 miles (18,736 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The Pound is a very popular area for bushwalking, interesting to people of all levels of experience.
• Because of Wilpena Pound's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilpena Pound 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.
• The name of the Pound, Wilpena, is reported to be Aboriginal, meaning "place of bent fingers".
• Although not part of the Pound, the adjacent Elder Range was named by Frederick Sinnett after the very successful Adelaide businessman, Sir Thomas Elder.

Facts about Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• The Columbus flying school received its first aircraft, nine Beech AT-10s and twenty-one AT-8s in early 1942.
• In preparation for this transfer, Air Training Command had activated the 3650th Pilot Training Wing at Columbus on 15 February.
• The first KC-135 Stratotanker, piloted by the wing commander, landed on the new runway on 7 January 1959.
• Columbus AFB was established in 1941 as Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Columbus, Mississippi.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.
• When the war ended in 1945, the base strength had reached a peak of 2,300 enlisted men, 300 officers, and an average of 250 pilot cadets per class.