Nonstop flight route between Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Rabaul, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Jacksonville (NIP), Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Rabaul Airport (RAB), Rabaul, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,494 miles (or 13,670 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 NAS Jacksonville and Rabaul 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 NAS Jacksonville and Rabaul 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 NAS Jacksonville (NIP):

• Support facilities include an additional outlying field for pilot training, a maintenance depot employing more than 150 different trade skills capable of performing maintenance as basic as changing a tire to intricate micro-electronics or total engine disassembly, a Naval Hospital, a Fleet Industrial Supply Center, a Navy Family Service Center, a DeCA commissary, Navy Exchange, and recreational facilities for both single sailors and families of the Active, Reserve and Retired military communities.
• Because of NAS Jacksonville's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Jacksonville 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 "NAS Jacksonville", another name for NIP is "Towers Field".
• The closest airport to NAS Jacksonville (NIP) is Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (CRG), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NE of NIP.
• More than 700 buildings sprung to life on the base before V-J Day, including an 80-acre hospital and a prisoner-of-war compound which housed more than 1,500 German prisoners of war.
• NAS Jacksonville (NIP) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from NAS Jacksonville (NIP) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,460 miles (18,444 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Force reductions in the 1990s and early 2000s eliminated several P-3C squadrons and SH-60F/HH-60H squadrons at NAS Jacksonville, while the BRAC-directed closure of nearby NAS Cecil Field resulted in the relocation of Sea Control Wing ONE and its multiple Sea Control Squadrons operating the S-3 Viking until that aircraft's retirement from the active Fleet in 2008.
• In 1973, with the assignment of Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing One, the station’s primary mission became antisubmarine warfare.
• In the mid-1950s, an air traffic control center for joint use by the Navy, Air Force, and Civil Aeronautics Administration was approved and completed at a cost of $325,000.
• In 1970, a major reorganization of the Naval Reserve resulted in three separate Naval Air Reserve flying squadrons, identical to their active duty Regular Navy counterparts, being activated at NAS Jacksonville.

Facts about Rabaul Airport (RAB):

• The furthest airport from Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,780 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Because of Rabaul Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Rabaul 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 closest airport to Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Namatanai Airport (ATN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) N of RAB.
• A volcano eruption closed the airport for a day in 2006.
• Rabaul Airport (RAB) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Rabaul Airport", another name for RAB is "Tokua Airport".