Nonstop flight route between Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Shelton, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from HWK to SHN:
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- About this route
- HWK Airport Information
- SHN Airport Information
- Facts about HWK
- Facts about SHN
- Map of Nearest Airports to HWK
- List of Nearest Airports to HWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from HWK
- List of Furthest Airports from HWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to SHN
- List of Nearest Airports to SHN
- Map of Furthest Airports from SHN
- List of Furthest Airports from SHN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wilpena Pound (HWK), Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Sanderson Field (SHN), Shelton, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,144 miles (or 13,107 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 Sanderson Field, 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 Sanderson Field. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HWK / YHAW |
Airport Name: | Wilpena Pound |
Location: | Hawker, South Australia, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 31°33'32"S by 138°34'26"E |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from HWK |
More Information: | HWK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SHN / KSHN |
Airport Name: | Sanderson Field |
Location: | Shelton, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°14'0"N by 123°8'50"W |
Area Served: | Shelton, Washington |
Operator/Owner: | Port of Shelton |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 273 feet (83 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SHN |
More Information: | SHN Maps & Info |
Facts about Wilpena Pound (HWK):
- The name of the Pound, Wilpena, is reported to be Aboriginal, meaning "place of bent fingers".
- 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.
- 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 also later became part of the Flinders Ranges National Park.
- The closest airport to Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Leigh Creek Airport (LGH), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) N of HWK.
- Point Bonney was named after the Crown Commissioner of Lands Charles Bonney, while Rawnsley's Bluff is named after the surveyor H.C.
- Wilpena Pound is one of the most popular sites in the Flinders Ranges for international tourists to visit the outback because of the large development that has occurred at the Wilpena Pound Resort on the eastern side of Wilpena Pound and Rawnsley Park Station on the western side.
Facts about Sanderson Field (SHN):
- Sanderson Field (SHN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Sanderson Field (SHN) is Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of SHN.
- The furthest airport from Sanderson Field (SHN) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,810 miles (17,397 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Because of Sanderson Field's relatively low elevation of 273 feet, planes can take off or land at Sanderson Field 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.
- Sanderson Field originally operated under the name Mason County Airport.
- Services at Sanderson include minor airframe and powerplant repair by Olympic Air.