Nonstop flight route between Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Peru, Indiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wilpena Pound (HWK), Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS), Peru, Indiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,891 miles (or 15,918 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 Grissom Air Reserve 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 Grissom Air Reserve 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 first European to see the distant mountains of the Pound was almost certainly Edward Eyre from the western plains on his first 1839 expedition to the vicinity of Lake Torrens.
• The name of the Pound, Wilpena, is reported to be Aboriginal, meaning "place of bent fingers".
• The closest airport to Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Leigh Creek Airport (LGH), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) N of HWK.
• 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 Pound also later became part of the Flinders Ranges National Park.
• 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.
• Attempts at farming the Pound failed during the early 20th century.
• The wall of mountains almost completely encircles the gently-sloping interior of the Pound, with the only breaks being the gorge at Wilpena Gap and a high saddle in the south-western range over which the Heysen Trail passes.

Facts about Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS):

• The 305th Air Refueling Wing phased out operations and ended its presence on base on 30 September 1994, when the Air Force inactivated it.
• In 1975, the Air Force inactivated the 3d Post Attack Command and Control System of the 305th Air Refueling Wing and transferred specialized Boeing EC-135s to the 70th Air Refueling Squadron of the 305th Air Refueling Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Grissom Air Reserve Base", another name for GUS is "Grissom ARS".
• The 305th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy, provided tanker support to units involved in the United States invasion of Panama in December 1989.
• The closest airport to Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Kokomo Municipal Airport (OKK), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of GUS.
• The furthest airport from Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,184 miles (17,998 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The United States Navy on 1 July 1942 started Naval Air Station Bunker Hill to train Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard pilots.
• Strategic Air Command assumed operational control of Bunker Hill Air Force Base from Tactical Air Command on 1 September 1957.