Nonstop flight route between Avarua, Cook Islands and San Bernardino, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), Avarua, Cook Islands and Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,736 miles (or 7,621 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 Rarotonga International Airport and Norton 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 Rarotonga International Airport and Norton 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 Rarotonga International Airport (RAR):

• Air Rarotonga Saab 340 inter-island airliner at the airport
• Rarotonga International Airport is the Cook Islands' main international gateway, located in the town and district of Avarua, Rarotonga, 3km west of the downtown area on the northern coast.
• Air Rarotonga Saab 340 and Embraer Bandeirante
• Another outbound view of Rarotonga Airport and the island's mountainous interior
• The airport first opened in 1975 on the site of a former U.S.
• The furthest airport from Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Faya-Largeau Airport (FYT), which is nearly antipodal to Rarotonga International Airport (meaning Rarotonga International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Faya-Largeau Airport), and is located 12,199 miles (19,632 kilometers) away in Faya-Largeau, Chad.
• The closest airport to Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Mangaia Island Airport (MGS), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) ESE of RAR.
• Because of Rarotonga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Rarotonga International 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.
• Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Norton Air Force Base (SBD):

• The furthest airport from Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,447 miles (18,423 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Norton AFB was closed as a result of Base Realignment and Closure action 1988 in 1994.
• A change of mission in 1966 from Air Force Logistics Command to Military Airlift Command meant that Norton became one of six Military Airlift Command strategic-airlift bases, supporting US Army and Marine Corps' airlift requirements among other functions.
• The closest airport to Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is San Bernardino International Airport (SBT), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) S of SBD.
• With the air force moving into the jet age in the late 1940s, Norton began overhauling jet engines in 1951, and the San Bernardino Air Materiel Area became one of three air force jet overhaul centers by 1953.
• Norton was placed on the Department of Defense's base closure list in 1989.
• Norton Air Force Base was a United States Air Force facility located 2 miles east of downtown San Bernardino, California in San Bernardino County.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
• For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility for a variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies as part of Air Materiel/Air Force Logistics Command, then as part of Military Airlift/Air Mobility Command.
• Discrete C-130 Hercules modification tests were conducted out of Area II of the base in the late 1960s, with the 1198th Operational Evaluation and Training Squadron operating four highly classified C-130E special operations testbeds modified at Lockheed Air Services, at near-by Ontario Airport under projects Thin Slice and Heavy Chain.