Nonstop flight route between Point Lookout, Missouri, United States and Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport (PLK), Point Lookout, Missouri, United States and Bankstown Airport (BWU), Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,879 miles (or 14,289 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 M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport and Bankstown 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 M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport and Bankstown 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 M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport (PLK):

• Because of M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport's relatively low elevation of 940 feet, planes can take off or land at M. Graham Clark Downtown 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 M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport (PLK) is Branson Airport (BKG), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SSE of PLK.
• M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport (PLK) currently has only 1 runway.
• A private entity had contracted with the college to provide commercial airline service to Clark Field, serving Branson, in the late 1990s, but the venture failed and the terminal building, fire department building, and associated ramp were turned over to the college.
• Clark Field has at times been one of the busiest general aviation airports in the region.
• The furthest airport from M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport (PLK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,834 miles (17,435 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Bankstown Airport (BWU):

• Bankstown Airport (BWU) has 3 runways.
• When General MacArthur arrived in Australia, during World War II, Bankstown Airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces, and was established as a key strategic air base to support the war effort in 1942.
• The furthest airport from Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Bankstown Airport (meaning Bankstown Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of BWU.
• Bankstown has its own dedicated air traffic control tower, operated by Airservices Australia, and uses Class D airspace procedures.
• Because of Bankstown Airport's relatively low elevation of 34 feet, planes can take off or land at Bankstown 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 airport's master plan was approved in March 2005 by the Minister for Transport and Regional Services.
• In addition to being known as "Bankstown Airport", another name for BWU is "Sydney/Bankstown Airport".