Nonstop flight route between Universal City, Texas, United States and Stewart Island, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND), Universal City, Texas, United States and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,836 miles (or 12,611 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome, 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome. 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):

• General Lahm established the Air Corps Training Center in August 1926 and set up its headquarters at Duncan Field, next to Kelly Field, Texas.
• 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.
• Like many military installations during World War II, Randolph fielded an intercollegiate football team, nicknamed the Randolph Field Ramblers.
• Randolph AFB is part of Joint Base San Antonio, an amalgamation of the United States Army Fort Sam Houston, the United States Air Force Randolph Air Force Base and Lackland Air Force Base, which were merged on 1 October 2010.
• 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.
• Between October 1931 and March 1935, more than 2,000 candidates reported for pilot training at Randolph, which began a new class every fourth months.
• 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 addition to being known as "Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio", another name for RND is "Randolph AFB".

Facts about Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):

• The closest airport to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.
• The furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• In 2000 Southern Air 1997 Ltd was bought by Stewart Island Flights, which uses Islanders FXE and FWZ, Cessna A185E Skywagon JEM and Piper PA32 Cherokee Sixs RTS and DIV aircraft in its service.
• Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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.
• In the mid-1980s Stewart Island Air Services changed its name to Southern Air Limited with Keith Smith, Joe Cave, Bill Haslett and Sam Nicol as shareholders.