Nonstop flight route between Pretoria, South Africa and Abilene, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wonderboom Airport (PRY), Pretoria, South Africa and Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), Abilene, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,296 miles (or 14,960 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 Wonderboom Airport and Dyess Air Force Base, 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 Wonderboom Airport and Dyess Air Force Base. 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 Wonderboom Airport (PRY):

• Airport management passed to the Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Council in December 1994.
• Because of Wonderboom Airport's high elevation of 4,095 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PRY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PRY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Wonderboom Airport (PRY) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Wonderboom Airport (PRY) is Grand Central Airport (GCJ), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) SSW of PRY.
• The furthest airport from Wonderboom Airport (PRY) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is nearly antipodal to Wonderboom Airport (meaning Wonderboom Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hana Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• In 2007, plans were mooted by the City of Pretoria for scheduled passenger service from Wonderboom Airport.

Facts about Dyess Air Force Base (DYS):

• In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces built Tye Army Air Field, as it was popularly known, on the site of what is now known as Dyess AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Dyess Air Force Base", another name for DYS is "Dyess AFB".
• Units stationed at Dyess Air Force Base while the 5/517th was operational included SAC's 819th Strategic Aerospace Division, the 96th BW, and the 578th Strategic Missile Squadron.
• The closest airport to Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DYS.
• Dyess Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 7 miles southwest of Abilene, Texas.
• The 317th Airlift Group, an Air Mobility Command tenant unit, performs Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules airlift missions with 28 aircraft assigned.
• The furthest airport from Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,080 miles (17,831 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The 96th Bombardment Wing moved to Dyess on 8 September 1957 and for a few years worked alongside the 341st.