Nonstop flight route between Montgomery, Alabama, United States and Mascot (near Sydney), Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF), Montgomery, Alabama, United States and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,152 miles (or 14,729 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 Maxwell Air Force Base and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 Maxwell Air Force Base and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF):

• The closest airport to Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF) is Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of MXF.
• Toward the end of February 1910, the Wright Brothers decided to open one of the world's earliest flying schools at the site that would subsequently become Maxwell AFB.
• On January 25, 1930, President Herbert Hoover asked Congress to re-appropriate an additional $100,000 for the main school building at Maxwell Field.
• The furthest airport from Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,193 miles (18,013 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Maxwell Field, as most Army air stations and depots developed during World War I, was on leased properties with temporary buildings being the mainstay of construction.
• In May 1928 General Benjamin Foulois, General Fechet's assistant, during an inspection visit with Third Army commander General Frank Parker to Maxwell Field mentioned that the Air Corps Tactical School would be moving to a still undecided location.
• In addition to being known as "Maxwell Air Force Base", another name for MXF is "Maxwell AFB".
• By early 1928 the decision of the attack group had come down to Shreveport, Louisiana, and Montgomery.

Facts about Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD):

• The area that the airport was situated was originally a bullock paddock.Nigel Love, a former wartime pilot, was looking into the possibilities for aviation in Australia.
• In 1933 the first gravel runways were built.
• Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Bankstown Airport (BWU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of SYD.
• In March 2010, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released a report sharply critical of price gouging at Sydney airport, ranking it fifth out of five airports.
• Because of Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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.
• Terminal 2, located in the airport's north-eastern section, was the former home of Ansett Australia's domestic operations.
• The Darwin – Sydney route includes data from May 2012, prior data was not released.
• The furthest airport from Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (meaning Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• In addition to being known as "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".
• In 2002, the Australian Government sold Sydney Airports Corporation Limited, the management authority for the airport, to Southern Cross Airports Corporation Holdings Ltd.