Nonstop flight route between Longreach, Queensland, Australia and Mercury, Nevada, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LRE to DRA:
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- About this route
- LRE Airport Information
- DRA Airport Information
- Facts about LRE
- Facts about DRA
- Map of Nearest Airports to LRE
- List of Nearest Airports to LRE
- Map of Furthest Airports from LRE
- List of Furthest Airports from LRE
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRA
- List of Nearest Airports to DRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRA
- List of Furthest Airports from DRA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Longreach Airport (LRE), Longreach, Queensland, Australia and Desert Rock Airport (DRA), Mercury, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,681 miles (or 12,362 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 Longreach Airport and Desert Rock 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 Longreach Airport and Desert Rock Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LRE / YLRE |
Airport Name: | Longreach Airport |
Location: | Longreach, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 23°26'3"S by 144°16'49"E |
Operator/Owner: | Longreach Shire Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 627 feet (191 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LRE |
More Information: | LRE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DRA / KDRA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Mercury, Nevada, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°37'9"N by 116°1'58"W |
Operator/Owner: | Mercury, Nevada |
Airport Type: | United States Department of Energy/Nevada |
Elevation: | 1010 feet (308 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DRA |
More Information: | DRA Maps & Info |
Facts about Longreach Airport (LRE):
- Charles Kingsford Smith arrived in 1927, during a flight around the continent.
- The closest airport to Longreach Airport (LRE) is Barcaldine Airport (BCI), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) E of LRE.
- The furthest airport from Longreach Airport (LRE) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,625 miles (18,709 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
- The first overland flight across the Australian continent from Melbourne to Darwin passed through the airport in 1919.
- In 2012, a new terminal was opened to comply with new security regulations.
- Longreach has played a major part in Australian aviation from 1919 onwards.
- During World War II, Longreach airport became, for a short time in 1942, a base for United States Army Air Forces B-17 bomber aircraft of the 28th and 93d Bombardment Squadrons.
- Because of Longreach Airport's relatively low elevation of 627 feet, planes can take off or land at Longreach 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.
- Longreach Airport (LRE) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Desert Rock Airport (DRA):
- The furthest airport from Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,271 miles (18,139 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Desert Rock Airport (DRA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Creech Air Force Base Indian Springs Auxiliary Army Airfield (1961) Indian Springs Air Force Base (1951) Indian Springs Army Airfield Indian Springs Airport eponyms: Indian Springs, Nevada &Wilbur L. Creech[1] (INS), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of DRA.
- In addition to being known as "Desert Rock Airport", another name for DRA is "NV65".