Nonstop flight route between Norfolk Island, Australia and Abilene, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), Norfolk Island, Australia and Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), Abilene, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,378 miles (or 11,873 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 Norfolk Island Airport and Dyess 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 Norfolk Island Airport and Dyess 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 Norfolk Island Airport (NLK):

• Norfolk Island Airport was ranked 56th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.
• Norfolk Island Airport handled 57,758 passengers last year.
• Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) has 2 runways.
• Initially used for bomber patrols and for a transport service to Bougainville Island, the airfield was never used as a major base and became a stopover for aircraft travelling between Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands.
• The furthest airport from Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) is Tan Tan Airport (TTA), which is nearly antipodal to Norfolk Island Airport (meaning Norfolk Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tan Tan Airport), and is located 12,369 miles (19,905 kilometers) away in Tan-Tan, Morocco.
• The closest airport to Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) is Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA), which is located 478 miles (769 kilometers) NNW of NLK.
• Because of Norfolk Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 371 feet, planes can take off or land at Norfolk 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.
• In addition to being known as "Norfolk Island Airport", another name for NLK is "YSNF".

Facts about Dyess Air Force Base (DYS):

• The furthest airport from Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,080 miles (17,831 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The base is named after Lt Col William Edwin Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas, who was captured by the Japanese on Bataan in April 1942.
• Since 1961, various models of C-130 Hercules aircraft have been stationed at Dyess AFB.
• The closest airport to Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DYS.
• Dyess AFB was established in 1942 as Abilene Army Air Base.
• In addition to being known as "Dyess Air Force Base", another name for DYS is "Dyess AFB".
• On 25 March 1944, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt training for flight cadets was taken over by the 261st Army Air Force Base Unit.