Nonstop flight route between Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Johannesburg, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Grand Central Airport (GCJ), Johannesburg, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,236 miles (or 13,255 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Grand Central 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Grand Central 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• Shortly after it departed from Asheville Regional Airport in Asheville, North Carolina, on July 19, 1967, Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 collided with a twin-engine Cessna 310 on approach to Asheville.
• Roanoke Regional saw 685,000 passengers in 2007, with 71 percent on-time departures and 68 percent on-time arrivals.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
• Originally 5,900 feet in length, an expansion to lengthen Runway 6/24 was originally envisioned in the 1970s.
• Piedmont service originally commenced on April 16, 1948, with only a pair of flights, which carried 42 passengers.
• In the time since the initial commercial service to Roanoke commenced in 1933, various airlines have offered non-stop service to and from Roanoke.
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.

Facts about Grand Central Airport (GCJ):

• This is a small airfield that is restricted to light aircraft only.
• The airfield was started in the 1930s by a group of motor racing enthusiasts who were also interested in flying.
• The closest airport to Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) SSE of GCJ.
• Grand Central Airport (GCJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Grand Central Airport's high elevation of 5,327 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GCJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GCJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.