Nonstop flight route between Phalaborwa, South Africa and Jacksonville, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), Phalaborwa, South Africa and NAS Jacksonville (NIP), Jacksonville, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,341 miles (or 13,423 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 Hendrik Van Eck Airport and NAS Jacksonville, 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 Hendrik Van Eck Airport and NAS Jacksonville. 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 Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW):

• In addition to being known as "Hendrik Van Eck Airport", another name for PHW is "Phalaborwa Airport".
• The furthest airport from Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,944 miles (19,222 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SSW of PHW.
• Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about NAS Jacksonville (NIP):

• In addition to being known as "NAS Jacksonville", another name for NIP is "Towers Field".
• 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 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.
• Prior to the commissioning, on September 7, Commander Jimmy Grant became the first pilot to land on the still unfinished runway in his N3N-3 biplane.
• Today, 23,000 civilian and active-duty personnel are employed on the base.
• In 1973, with the assignment of Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing One, the station’s primary mission became antisubmarine warfare.
• 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.
• NAS Jacksonville (NIP) has 2 runways.
• By the mid-1950s, with the station's continuing growth, the Navy was having a tremendous impact on the economic growth in the Jacksonville and Duval County area.
• In March 1959, Marine Attack Squadron ONE FOUR TWO of the Marine Corps Reserve relocated to NAS Jacksonville from the closing MCAS Miami, along with the associated Marine Air Reserve Training Detachment.
• The United States Air Force Air Defense Command established a Phase III Mobile Radar station at NAS Jacksonville in 1 July 1957 with the 679th Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron operating AN/FPS-3, AN/FPS-8, and AN/MPS-14 radars as part of the ADC radar network.
• The first detail of Marines arrived from Parris Island, South Carolina on June 4, 1940 to secure the 3,250-acre area, setting up a barracks in a former residence on Allegheny Road.
• 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.
• During World War I, the area now occupied by NAS Jacksonville, often referred to colloquially as "NAS Jax", was named Camp Joseph E.