Nonstop flight route between Fort Rucker/Ozark, Alabama, United States and Ratmalana, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR), Fort Rucker/Ozark, Alabama, United States and Ratmalana Airport (RML), Ratmalana, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,638 miles (or 15,511 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 Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) and Ratmalana 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 Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) and Ratmalana 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 Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR):

• Needing a location to shoot all takeoffs and landings for the 1949 film Twelve O'Clock High, including the spectacular B-17 Flying Fortress belly-landing sequence early in the film, director Henry King selected Ozark since its dark runways more closely matched wartime bases in England as opposed to the light-colored runways at nearby Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, the primary shoot location.
• Because of Cairns Army Airfield (AAF)'s relatively low elevation of 301 feet, planes can take off or land at Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) 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 Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR) is Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) (LOR), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NNW of OZR.
• The furthest airport from Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,214 miles (18,047 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Cairns Army Airfield (AAF)", other names for OZR include "Cairns Army Airfield" and "Fort Rucker".
• Cairns is the busiest airfield in the Army, training large numbers of Army aviators both day and night with an average annual traffic count of approximately 240,000 movements.
• Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR) has 2 runways.

Facts about Ratmalana Airport (RML):

• Ratmalana airport at one time had the country's main air terminal, with the Douglas DC-3 Dakota and Lockheed Constellation aeroplanes of Air Ceylon flying out of it.
• Ratmalana Airport, is one of the two international airports serving the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, the other being Bandaranaike International Airport.
• Because of Ratmalana Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Ratmalana 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 "Ratmalana Airport", another name for RML is "රත්මලාන ගුවන්තොටුපළஇரத்மலானை விமான நிலைய".
• There are currently 2 terminals at the airport.
• The closest airport to Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of RML.
• Ratmalana Airport (RML) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is much closer to the Colombo city center compared to the larger Bandaranaike International Airport which is 32 km north of the city.
• The furthest airport from Ratmalana Airport (RML) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,628 miles (18,713 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.