Nonstop flight route between Universal City, Texas, United States and Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND), Universal City, Texas, United States and Goma Airport (GOM), Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,496 miles (or 13,672 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 Goma 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 Goma 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio", another name for RND is "Randolph AFB".
• 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.
• On 1 April 1952, the Air Force established the Crew Training Air Force with its headquarters at Randolph to administer nine bases and combat crew training wings, including the 3510th.
• 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.
• Although barely half-completed, Randolph Field was dedicated 20 June 1930, with an estimated 15,000 people in attendance and a fly-by of 233 planes.
• In June 1941, the Air Corps became the Army Air Forces.

Facts about Goma Airport (GOM):

• The furthest airport from Goma Airport (GOM) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,981 miles (19,282 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Because of Goma Airport's high elevation of 5,089 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Goma Airport (GOM) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 15 April 2008, a Hewa Bora Airways DC-9 overshot the runway during an aborted takeoff and crashed into the marketplace immediately to the south of the airport, killing over 40 people.
• The closest airport to Goma Airport (GOM) is Gisenyi Airport (GYI), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) ESE of GOM.
• Initially built with a paved 3 km runway and a large terminal and apron, the airport has not recovered from the 2002 eruption of the volcano Nyiragongo, 14 km to the north.