Nonstop flight route between Universal City, Texas, United States and Ballina, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND), Universal City, Texas, United States and Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), Ballina, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,179 miles (or 13,163 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 Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio and Ballina Byron Gateway 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 Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio and Ballina Byron Gateway 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 Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND):

• In 1927, newly assigned to Kelly Field as a dispatch officer in the motor pool, First Lieutenant Harold Clark designed a model four-quadrant airfield having a circular layout of facilities between parallel runways, after learning a new field was to be constructed.
• Major tenant units of Randolph AFB include the Air Force Personnel Center, Air Force Manpower Agency, Air Force Recruiting Service, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Field Investigations Region 4.
• Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the United States Army Air Forces, and the Air Force during its entire existence.
• The furthest airport from Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND) is San Antonio International Airport (SAT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) W of RND.
• Like many military installations during World War II, Randolph fielded an intercollegiate football team, nicknamed the Randolph Field Ramblers.
• When Randolph resumed flying training activities in March 1948, primary pilot training was deleted from its program, and in August 1948 the 3510th Pilot Training Wing was activated.
• In addition to being known as "Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio", another name for RND is "Randolph AFB".
• Once the site for the field was selected, a committee decided to name the base after Captain William Millican Randolph, a native of Austin and graduate of Texas A&M, who was killed on 17 February 1928, in the crash of a Curtiss AT-4 Hawk, 27–220, on takeoff from Gorman Field, Texas.

Facts about Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK):

• The upgrade will in the future involve a taxiway being built for the runway and many more facilities for the airport.
• The closest airport to Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) is Lismore Airport (LSY), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) W of BNK.
• In 2005 Ballina Airport was renamed Ballina Byron Gateway Airport in a bid to attract more people to the area.
• It serves Ballina and the nearby town of Byron Bay, a 20 minute drive north.
• Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ballina Byron Gateway Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Ballina Byron Gateway 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.
• Ballina Byron Gateway Airport handled 291,322 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,911 miles (19,168 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.