Nonstop flight route between Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Tucson, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA), Tucson, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,230 miles (or 16,463 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 Richards Bay Airport and Davis–Monthan 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 Richards Bay Airport and Davis–Monthan 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 Richards Bay Airport (RCB):

• Because of Richards Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Richards Bay 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.
• Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) NNE of RCB.
• The furthest airport from Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA):

• The furthest airport from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,508 miles (18,521 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The 1980s brought several diverse missions to D-M.
• Two other major tenants, the 563rd Rescue Group and 943rd Rescue Group, are tasked to provide combat search and rescue support worldwide.
• Training at the airfield came to a halt on 14 August 1945, when the Japanese surrendered.
• On 1 September 1982, the headquarters of the 602nd Tactical Air Control Wing and its subordinate 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron, a unit responsible for the Air Force's tactical air control system west of the Mississippi River transferred from Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, and stood up at D-M, bringing 16 OA-37B aircraft and numerous new personnel to the base.
• In July 1963, the 4028th Strategic Reconnaissance Weather Wing, equipped with U-2 strategic reconnaissance aircraft, began flying global missions from Davis-Monthan.
• The closest airport to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Tucson International Airport (TUS), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SW of DMA.