Nonstop flight route between Panama City, Florida, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tyndall Air Force Base (PAM), Panama City, Florida, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,177 miles (or 13,160 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 Tyndall Air Force Base and Buka Island 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 Tyndall Air Force Base and Buka Island 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 Tyndall Air Force Base (PAM):

• Additionally, all of the Air Force's Air Battle Managers are initially trained at Tyndall prior to proceeding to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma for actual positional training in the E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft.
• In September 1950, Tyndall became an Air Training Command installation, designated as the USAF Pilot Instructor School.
• The furthest airport from Tyndall Air Force Base (PAM) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,235 miles (18,080 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Tyndall Air Force Base (PAM) is Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of PAM.
• It also received a Back-Up Interceptor Control II, and later BUIC III, capability to perform command and control functions.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka 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.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.