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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,512 miles (or 13,699 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 MacDill 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 MacDill 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):

• Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• The 326th Army Air Forces Base Unit was reorganized into an Army Air Forces separation )unit to process military demobilizations.
• With the United States entry into World War II, the primary mission of MacDill Field became the training of bombardment units under III Bomber Command.
• The 44th Bombardment Group was activated at MacDill on 15 January 1941 equipped with the Consolidated B-24A Liberator.
• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Air defense of the Tampa Bay area was the mission of the 53d Pursuit Group, established at MacDIll on 15 January 1941.
• Also located at MacDill are a division of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Joint Communications Support Element, the Florida Air National Guard's 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron, the Navy Reserve Forces Command's Navy Operational Support Center Tampa, the US Army's 297th Military Intelligence Battalion, the Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory, activities of the U.S.