Nonstop flight route between Riverside, California, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,982 miles (or 12,846 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 March Air Reserve Base and Melbourne 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 March Air Reserve Base and Melbourne 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 March Air Reserve Base (RIV):

• The signing of the armistice in November 1918 did not halt training at March Field.
• The furthest airport from March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,461 miles (18,445 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Few members of the 1st Fighter Group foresaw subsequent difficulties in the summer of 1946 as they trained with their new jet fighters.
• The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.
• The March Field Airfest, also known as Thunder Over the Empire, is a biennial air show held at March.

Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• In 1988, the Australian Government formed the Federal Airports Corporation, placing Melbourne Airport under the operational control of the new corporation along with 21 other airports around the nation.
• The Southern Freighter Apron has five dedicated freighter parking positions which host 21 dedicated freighter operations a week.
• The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.
• Expansion of carparks has also continued with a $40 million project commenced in 2004, doubling the size of the short term carpark with the addition of 2,500 spaces over six levels, along with 1,200 new spaces added to the 5,000 already available in the long term carpark.
• On 1 July 1970, Melbourne Airport was opened to international operations by Prime Minister John Gorton, ending Essendon's near 2-decade run as Melbourne International Airport.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007.
• The international terminal contains works by noted Australian Indigenous artists including Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri and Gloria Petyarre.
• In 1959 the Commonwealth Government acquired 5,300 ha of grassland in then-rural Tullamarine.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.