Nonstop flight route between Las Vegas, Nevada, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] (LSV), Las Vegas, Nevada, United States and Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,172 miles (or 13,152 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 Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] and Essendon 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 Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] and Essendon 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 Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] (LSV):

• The furthest airport from Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] (LSV) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,293 miles (18,174 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In March 1945, the base switched to B-29 gunnery training which included the manipulation trainer on the ground with camera guns, and the subsequent population peaked with nearly 11,000 officers and enlisted personnel including more than 4,700 students.
• In addition to being known as "Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2]", another name for LSV is "Nellis AFB (military installation)".
• Nellis AFB transferred to Tactical Air Command on 1 February 1958, and the Nellis mission transitioned from initial aircraft qualification and gunnery training to advanced, graduate-level weapons training.
• The closest airport to Nellis Air Force BaseLas Vegas Air Force Base (1948) Las Vegas Army Airfield (1941)[1] McCarren Field (c. 1935)[2] (LSV) is North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) WSW of LSV.
• The 1st B-17 Flying Fortresses arrived in 1942 and allowed training of 600 gunnery students and 215 co-pilots from LVAAF every five weeks at the height of WWII, and more than 45,000 B-17 gunners were trained The 82d Flying Training Wing for "Flexible Gunnery" was activated at the base as 1 of 10 AAF Flying Training Command wings on 23 August 1943:18 and by 1944, gunnery students fired from B-17, B-24 Liberator and B-40 Flying Fortress gunship aircraft.
• As of the census of 2000, there were 8,896 people, 2,873 households, and 2,146 families residing in the CDP.
• Nellis' 4477th Tactical Evaluation Flight operated MiG-17s, MiG-21s and MiG-23s at the Tonopah Test Range Airport to simulate combat against U.S.

Facts about Essendon Airport (MEB):

• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• The airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Essendon Airport (MEB) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Essendon Airport (meaning Essendon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,620 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The airfield itself also has undergone a major upgrade with the installation of lighting and signage systems to bring the airport to International Civil Aviation Organization standards.
• On 31 January 1945, a heavily-modified Stinson Model A registered VH-UYY and named Tokana, operated by Australian National Airways, departed from Essendon Airport for the daily flight to Kerang.
• A variety of aircraft were used through Essendon in the 1960s - Lockheed L-188 Electras.
• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• Because of Essendon Airport's relatively low elevation of 282 feet, planes can take off or land at Essendon 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.