Nonstop flight route between Rabaul, Papua New Guinea and Dover, Delaware, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rabaul Airport (RAB), Rabaul, Papua New Guinea and Dover Air Force Base (DOV), Dover, Delaware, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,604 miles (or 13,848 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 Rabaul Airport and Dover 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 Rabaul Airport and Dover 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 Rabaul Airport (RAB):

• Because of Rabaul Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Rabaul 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.
• Rabaul Airport (RAB) currently has only 1 runway.
• A volcano eruption closed the airport for a day in 2006.
• In addition to being known as "Rabaul Airport", another name for RAB is "Tokua Airport".
• The closest airport to Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Namatanai Airport (ATN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) N of RAB.
• The furthest airport from Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,780 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Facts about Dover Air Force Base (DOV):

• After the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the remains of the seven astronauts were transferred to Dover AFB.
• Once the airport came under military control an immediate construction program began to turn the civil airport into a military airfield.
• Full operational capability was restored to Dover in September, and seven P-47 Thunderbolt squadrons arrived for training in preparation for eventual involvement in the European Theater.
• Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the 436 AW and 512 AW became major participants in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• The closest airport to Dover Air Force Base (DOV) is Millville Municipal Airport (MIV), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) NE of DOV.
• In addition to being known as "Dover Air Force Base", another name for DOV is "Dover AFB".
• Dover AFB is also the home for the largest military mortuary in the Department of Defense, and has been used for processing military personnel killed in both war and peacetime.
• Dover Airfield was reactivated on 1 August 1950 as a result of the Korean War and the expansion of the United States Air Force in response to the Soviet threat in the Cold War.
• Some of the more memorable flights during the post-war period included the airdrop and test firing of a Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missile and the delivery of a 40-ton superconducting magnet to Moscow during the Cold War, for which the crew received the Mackay Trophy.
• The furthest airport from Dover Air Force Base (DOV) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,750 miles (18,909 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.