Nonstop flight route between Monrovia, Liberia and Knob Noster, Missouri, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW), Monrovia, Liberia and Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,559 miles (or 8,946 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 Spriggs Payne 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 Spriggs Payne 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 Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW):

• The airport facility consists of a collection of small, single-story buildings.
• The closest airport to Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) is Roberts International Airport Roberts Field (ROB), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) E of MLW.
• From 2008 until mid-2010, scheduled commercial services were operated by Cameroon-based Elysian Airlines.
• Because of Spriggs Payne Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Spriggs Payne 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.
• Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) is Nauru International Airport (INU), which is nearly antipodal to Spriggs Payne Airport (meaning Spriggs Payne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Nauru International Airport), and is located 12,009 miles (19,327 kilometers) away in Yaren, Nauru.
• Spriggs-Payne was the primary location for domestic services within Liberia since the 1950s.
• Elysian ceased operating in mid-2010, and the airport was left for a period without any scheduled commercial service.

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.
• The host unit at Whiteman AFB is the 509th Bomb Wing, assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
• In May 1942, construction workers descended upon an area known to locals as the "Blue Flats" because of the color of the soil and began building a railroad spur for the new air base.
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.
• The Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing and the active-duty 509th Bomb Wing have a unique relationship at Whiteman AFB, in that members of the two units work side-by-side on a daily basis, although the majority of the 131st Bomb Wing visits Whiteman only one weekend per month for drill.
• In August 1951, SAC selected Sedalia AFB to be one of its new bombardment wings, with the first all-jet bomber, the B-47 Stratojet, and the KC-97 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft assigned to the unit.
• Before completion of the construction, SAC activated the 351st Strategic Missile Wing at Whiteman on 1 Feb 1963.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".