Nonstop flight route between Universal City, Texas, United States and Orchid Island, Taitung County, Taiwan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND), Universal City, Texas, United States and Lanyu Airport (KYD), Orchid Island, Taitung County, Taiwan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,999 miles (or 12,873 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 Lanyu 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 Lanyu 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):

• 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.
• The Army Air Forces also planned to return basic pilot training to Randolph on 1 February 1946.
• 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.
• General Lahm established the Air Corps Training Center in August 1926 and set up its headquarters at Duncan Field, next to Kelly Field, Texas.
• 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.
• To preserve the lineage and histories of combat units, the Air Force directed ATC to replace its four-digit flying and pilot training wings with two-digit designations.
• 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".
• 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 Air Corps Act of 1926 mandated that rated pilots comprise 90% of all commissioned officers of the Air Corps.

Facts about Lanyu Airport (KYD):

• The closest airport to Lanyu Airport (KYD) is Lyudao Airport (Green Island Airport) (GNI), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) N of KYD.
• In addition to being known as "Lanyu Airport", other names for KYD include "蘭嶼航空站蘭嶼機場" and "Lányǔ HángkōngzhànLányǔ Jīchǎng".
• Because of Lanyu Airport's relatively low elevation of 44 feet, planes can take off or land at Lanyu 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.
• Lanyu Airport (KYD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lanyu Airport (KYD) is Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport (ESG), which is nearly antipodal to Lanyu Airport (meaning Lanyu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport), and is located 12,299 miles (19,794 kilometers) away in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay.