Nonstop flight route between Mendi, Papua New Guinea and Knob Noster, Missouri, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mendi Airport (MDU), Mendi, Papua New Guinea and Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,232 miles (or 13,249 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 Mendi Airport and Whiteman Air Force 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 Mendi Airport and Whiteman Air Force 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 Mendi Airport (MDU):

• Because of Mendi Airport's high elevation of 5,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MDU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MDU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Mendi Airport (MDU) is Moro Airport (MXH), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) WSW of MDU.
• Mendi Airport (MDU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mendi Airport (MDU) is Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), which is located 11,735 miles (18,885 kilometers) away in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

Facts about Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL):

• The furthest airport from Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,815 miles (17,405 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In June 1961, the Department of Defense chose Whiteman to host the fourth Minuteman ICBM wing.
• The host unit at Whiteman AFB is the 509th Bomb Wing, assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
• Construction on Whiteman continued throughout the 1950s.
• The 509th Force Support Squadron is a part of the * 509th Mission Support Group at Whiteman AFB Missouri.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".
• The 476th Fighter Group, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, is an Air Force Reserve Command unit linked to the 23rd Fighter Group at Moody.
• In November 1942, the installation became Sedalia Army Air Field and was assigned to the I Troop Carrier Command of the Army Air Force.
• Then came an announcement that would change Whiteman forever.
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.