Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, South Africa and Camp Roberts, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from QRA to SYL:
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- About this route
- QRA Airport Information
- SYL Airport Information
- Facts about QRA
- Facts about SYL
- Map of Nearest Airports to QRA
- List of Nearest Airports to QRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from QRA
- List of Furthest Airports from QRA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYL
- List of Nearest Airports to SYL
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYL
- List of Furthest Airports from SYL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Rand Airport (QRA), Johannesburg, South Africa and Roberts Army Heliport (SYL), Camp Roberts, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,490 miles (or 16,882 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 Rand Airport and Roberts Army Heliport, 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 Rand Airport and Roberts Army Heliport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QRA / FAGM |
Airport Name: | Rand Airport |
Location: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 26°14'32"S by 28°9'3"E |
Operator/Owner: | Rand Airport Management Company (Pty) Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5482 feet (1,671 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from QRA |
More Information: | QRA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYL / KSYL |
Airport Name: | Roberts Army Heliport |
Location: | Camp Roberts, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°48'53"N by 120°44'38"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Army |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 630 feet (192 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from SYL |
More Information: | SYL Maps & Info |
Facts about Rand Airport (QRA):
- Rand Airport is notorious for its hot and high conditions and relatively short runways.
- Because of Rand Airport's high elevation of 5,482 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at QRA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make QRA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The following navigational aids are installed for non precision instrument approaches at this airport.
- The closest airport to Rand Airport (QRA) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NE of QRA.
- SAA moved its headquarters to Palmietfontein Airport in 1948 because of runway length constraints.
- South African Airways donated two Boeing 747s to the "South African Airways Museum Society" which are on display at the airport.
- de Havilland DH 104 Dove and Lockheed L18-08 Lodestar on view at the South African Airways Museum Society at Rand Airport.
- Boeing 747SP at the South African Airways Museum Society situated near the threshold of Runway 29.
- The furthest airport from Rand Airport (QRA) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,977 miles (19,275 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- Rand Airport (QRA) has 2 runways.
Facts about Roberts Army Heliport (SYL):
- The furthest airport from Roberts Army Heliport (SYL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,409 miles (18,361 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Because of Roberts Army Heliport's relatively low elevation of 630 feet, planes can take off or land at Roberts Army Heliport 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 Roberts Army Heliport (SYL) is Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield (PRB), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SE of SYL.