Nonstop flight route between Rabaul, Papua New Guinea and Westhampton Beach, New York, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rabaul Airport (RAB), Rabaul, Papua New Guinea and Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK), Westhampton Beach, New York, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,681 miles (or 13,971 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 Francis S. Gabreski 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 Rabaul Airport and Francis S. Gabreski 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 Rabaul Airport (RAB):

• The closest airport to Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Namatanai Airport (ATN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) N of 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.
• 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 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.
• Rabaul Airport (RAB) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK):

• In 1975, the designation and mission changed again to "Aerospace Rescue and Recovery", later shortened to "Air Rescue" and then simply "Rescue".
• Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) has 3 runways.
• In 1955, the 23 FIG was reassigned to Presque Isle AFB, Maine and replaced by the newly activated 52nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing, which flew under various designations from Suffolk County AFB until 1969, with the 2d and 5th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons flying F-94 Starfire, F-101 Voodoo and F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors.
• The furthest airport from Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,798 miles (18,988 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Renamed when the United States Air Force reclaimed the airport in 1951, Suffolk County Air Force Base was part of the Eastern Air Defense Force's defense of the New York City metropolitan area.
• The Suffolk County Police Aviation Section bases a Law Enforcement and MEDEVAC helicopter at the airport.
• Military operations were reintroduced in June 1970 when the 102nd Air Refueling Squadron of the 106th Air Refueling Group, New York Air National Guard, relocated to Suffolk County with their KC-97 Stratotankers after the closing of Naval Air Station Floyd Bennett Field.
• The closest airport to Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Calverton Executive Airpark (CTO), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of FOK.
• Because of Francis S. Gabreski Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Francis S. Gabreski 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.