Nonstop flight route between Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Wichita, Kansas, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PLU to IAB:
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- About this route
- PLU Airport Information
- IAB Airport Information
- Facts about PLU
- Facts about IAB
- Map of Nearest Airports to PLU
- List of Nearest Airports to PLU
- Map of Furthest Airports from PLU
- List of Furthest Airports from PLU
- Map of Nearest Airports to IAB
- List of Nearest Airports to IAB
- Map of Furthest Airports from IAB
- List of Furthest Airports from IAB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport (PLU), Belo Horizonte, Brazil and McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB), Wichita, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,268 miles (or 8,478 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 Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport and McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield, 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 Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport and McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PLU / SBBH |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°51'6"S by 43°57'2"W |
Area Served: | Belo Horizonte |
Operator/Owner: | Infraero |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 2589 feet (789 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PLU |
More Information: | PLU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | IAB / KIAB |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Wichita, Kansas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°37'23"N by 97°16'1"W |
View all routes: | Routes from IAB |
More Information: | IAB Maps & Info |
Facts about Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport (PLU):
- The closest airport to Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport (PLU) is Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) N of PLU.
- The furthest airport from Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport (PLU) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is located 11,958 miles (19,244 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
- However, due to the long distance between Belo Horizonte and Confins, Pampulha remained the airport of choice for most airlines, eventually becoming overcrowded, while Confins was under-used.
- Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport handled 989,599 passengers last year.
- In 1943 the runway was extended to 1,500m x 45m, in 1953 to 1,700m, and finally in 1961 to 2,505m.
- In addition to being known as "Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport", another name for PLU is "Aeroporto de Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade".
- Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport (PLU) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB):
- On 8 February 1964 the 23d Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated at McConnell initially with three F-105 squadrons.
- By 1952 the Air Force had decided to make a permanent base of the quondam municipal airport.
- McConnell's history began in October 1924, when the city of Wichita hosted more than 100,000 people for the National Air Congress.
- By the summer of 1950, Boeing was ready to turn out the first production models of the B-47, and the United States Air Force sought to make Wichita Airport a permanent military installation.
- The closest airport to McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB) is Cessna Aircraft Field (CEA), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) NNE of IAB.
- The furthest airport from McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,740 miles (17,285 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- In August 1941, the Kansas National Guard 127th Observation Squadron was activated as the first military unit assigned to the Wichita airport.
- In addition to being known as "McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield", another name for IAB is "McConnell AFB".
- In spite of the difficulty of building an installation and initiating an entirely new program simultaneously, the base developed into a highly specialized training center.