Nonstop flight route between Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States and Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pope Field (POB), Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States and Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,453 miles (or 13,605 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 Pope Field and Richards Bay 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 Pope Field and Richards Bay 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 Pope Field (POB):

• The 464th provided airlift of troops and cargo, participated in joint airborne training with Army forces, and took part in tactical exercises in the United States and overseas.
• The furthest airport from Pope Field (POB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,630 miles (18,716 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The tempo of activities at Pope quickened with the outbreak of World War II.
• After the war, Pope Field became Pope Air Force Base with the creation of the United States Air Force on 18 September 1947.
• The 464th received the Mackay Trophy for the dramatic RED DRAGON/DRAGON ROUGE and BLACK DRAGON/DRAGON NOIR hostage rescue missions in the Congo in 1964.
• The closest airport to Pope Field (POB) is Simmons Army Airfield (FBG), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) ESE of POB.
• The United States Army Fort Bragg Garrison is the host organization at Pope Field.
• Lessons learned in the Gulf War in 1990-1991 led senior defense planners to conclude that the structure of the military establishment created numerous command and control problems.

Facts about Richards Bay Airport (RCB):

• The furthest airport from Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) NNE of RCB.
• Because of Richards Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Richards Bay 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.