Nonstop flight route between Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Bunbury, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Bunbury Airport (BUY), Bunbury, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,680 miles (or 18,798 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Bunbury 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Bunbury 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):

• Commissioned on April 1, 1943 on land largely acquired through eminent domain, the air station grew rapidly in response to World War II and continued to evolve through the Cold War to the present.
• Since the end of the Cold War, the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure measures have migrated research and testing facilities for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft to NAS Patuxent River from decommissioned bases.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is St. Mary's County Regional Airport (LTW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of NHK.
• A lack of transportation in Saint Mary's County led the Navy to acquire and revitalize a branchline called theWashington, Brandywine and Point Lookout Railroad from Brandywine to Mechanicsville, Maryland in June 1942 and build an extension south from Mechanicsville to the air station.
• The original civilian residents had about a month, until March 1, 1942, to relocate as the federal government purchased all the land at a cost of $712,287 for 6,412 acres, which in 2013 dollars would be the equivalent of being paid $1,261 per acre.
• A highway extension to the new air station was required by the project—250,000 tons of material were transported by either truck or water routes during a year of construction.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
• Because of Naval Air Station Patuxent River's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River 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.
• In addition to its role in testing naval aircraft, during the 1950s to 1970s Patuxent River served as an operational base for a Transport Squadron - VR-1, a TACAMO squadron - VQ-4, Airborne Training Unit Atlantic - AEWTULANT, and VW-11, VW-13 AN VW-15 and a number of Patrol Squadrons including VP-8, VP-44, VP-49, VP-24, VP-30 and VP-68.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.

Facts about Bunbury Airport (BUY):

• The furthest airport from Bunbury Airport (BUY) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Bunbury Airport (meaning Bunbury Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,364 miles (19,898 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.
• Bunbury Airport (BUY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bunbury Airport (BUY) is Busselton Regional Airport (BQB), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SW of BUY.
• Because of Bunbury Airport's relatively low elevation of 53 feet, planes can take off or land at Bunbury 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.
• In addition to being known as "Bunbury Airport", another name for BUY is "Bunbury City Airport".
• In 2009, the airport received funding through the Western Australian Government's Regional Airports Development Scheme to extend the parallel taxiway by 700 m so arriving aircraft would no longer be required to turn around and taxi on the active runway to reach the apron area.