Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Columbus, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,473 miles (or 15,244 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 Melbourne Airport and Columbus 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 Melbourne Airport and Columbus 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.
• The search for a replacement for Essendon commenced in February 1958, when a panel was appointed to assess Melbourne's civil aviation needs.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• Although described as a satellite terminal, the terminal building is connected by an above-ground corridor to Terminal 2.

Facts about Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• The host unit at Columbus is the 14th Flying Training Wing assigned to the Air Education and Training Command.
• The first KC-135 Stratotanker, piloted by the wing commander, landed on the new runway on 7 January 1959.
• As the demand for pilots to support the war in Southeast Asia increased, the number of B-52s based stateside fell because they were needed overseas.
• The Columbus flying school received its first aircraft, nine Beech AT-10s and twenty-one AT-8s in early 1942.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The school used a number of trainers, including the AT-8, AT-9, AT-10, and B-25.
• In 1965 the 454th converted to B-52D, which was re-engineered for conventional bomb missions over Southeast Asia, although some B-52Cs were also assigned during 1968–69.
• The base began as a training facility for fighters and bombers.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.