Nonstop flight route between Mountain Home, Idaho, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mountain Home Air Force Base (MUO), Mountain Home, Idaho, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,446 miles (or 10,375 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 Mountain Home Air Force Base and Buka Island 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 Mountain Home Air Force Base and Buka Island 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 Mountain Home Air Force Base (MUO):

• Mountain Home's first operational USAF unit was the Strategic Air Command 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Group which was reassigned from Clark Field in the Philippines, being assigned on 26 May 1949.
• In 1959, construction of three HGM-25A Titan I missile sites began in the local area.
• With the move of the RF-4Cs to Bergstrom, TAC activated its 347th Tactical Fighter Wing at Mountain Home, which has been phased down by PACAF at Yokota AB, Japan in May 1971.
• The closest airport to Mountain Home Air Force Base (MUO) is Boise Airport (BOI), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) NNW of MUO.
• Following the wing's return from Southwest Asia, the Air Force began consolidating its B-1 Lancer and KC-135 Stratotanker forces.
• Mountain Home AFB is the home of the 366th Fighter Wing, which reports to Air Combat Command.
• In addition to being known as "Mountain Home Air Force Base", another name for MUO is "Mountain Home AFB".
• The furthest airport from Mountain Home Air Force Base (MUO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,858 miles (17,474 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka Island 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.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• On 26 July, an Imperial Japanese Navy special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airfield, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield.
• In 2004, the airport experienced some closures due to land disputes.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.