Nonstop flight route between Wichita, Kansas, United States and Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB), Wichita, Kansas, United States and Newcastle Airport (NTL), Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,610 miles (or 13,857 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 McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield and Newcastle 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 McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield and Newcastle 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 McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB):

• The Air Force was not the sole occupant during this period.
• However, the name was changed to McConnell Air Force Base after less than a year in honor of Wichita brothers Fred and Thomas McConnell, both Air Force pilots and World War II veterans.
• In addition to being known as "McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield", another name for IAB is "McConnell AFB".
• The furthest airport from McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,740 miles (17,285 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• On 6 October 1941, the unit was ordered to extended active duty and remained an integral part of the United States Army Air Corps until 6 October 1945, with duty assignments in Tennessee and Okinawa.
• The mission of the 23 TFW at McConnell was to provide training for F-105 pilots prior to their deployment to Southeast Asia.
• The closest airport to McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB) is Cessna Aircraft Field (CEA), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) NNE of IAB.
• Air Materiel Command's mission at the airport was to accept, service and coordinate the transfer of newly produced Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers to other installations.

Facts about Newcastle Airport (NTL):

• Commercial operations began at Williamtown in 1947 when the Australian Government opened the existing Royal Australian Air Force airport to civil aviation.
• Newcastle Airport handled 1,211,302 passengers last year.
• Newcastle Airport (NTL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Newcastle Airport", other names for NTL include "RAAF Base Williamtown" and "Williamtown Airport".
• Because of Newcastle Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Newcastle 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 July 2012, developer GWH Group announced that it had lodged a development application with the Port Stephens Council to construct a $12 million hotel complex on airport land adjacent to the current long term car park.
• The furthest airport from Newcastle Airport (NTL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Newcastle Airport (meaning Newcastle Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,102 miles (19,476 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Newcastle Airport (NTL) is Maitland Airport (MTL), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) WNW of NTL.
• $8.25 million was spent on upgrades to the terminal facilities completed in November 2005 to cope with future demand and security requirements.