Nonstop flight route between Rurutu, French Polynesia and Abilene, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rurutu Airport (RUR), Rurutu, French Polynesia and Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), Abilene, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,091 miles (or 8,193 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 Rurutu Airport and Dyess Air Force Base, 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 Rurutu Airport and Dyess Air Force Base. 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 Rurutu Airport (RUR):

• Because of Rurutu Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Rurutu 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.
• Rurutu Airport (RUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Rurutu Airport (RUR) is Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT), which is located 356 miles (572 kilometers) NNE of RUR.
• The furthest airport from Rurutu Airport (RUR) is Sharq Al-Owainat Airport (GSQ), which is nearly antipodal to Rurutu Airport (meaning Rurutu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sharq Al-Owainat Airport), and is located 12,425 miles (19,996 kilometers) away in Sharq Al-Owainat, Egypt.

Facts about Dyess Air Force Base (DYS):

• The furthest airport from Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,080 miles (17,831 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DYS.
• The 96th Bombardment Wing moved to Dyess on 8 September 1957 and for a few years worked alongside the 341st.
• The base is named after Lt Col William Edwin Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas, who was captured by the Japanese on Bataan in April 1942.
• In June 1985, the 96th received its first B-1B Lancer replacing the B-52 Stratofortress and in October 1986, assumed nuclear alert status.
• In addition to being known as "Dyess Air Force Base", another name for DYS is "Dyess AFB".
• On 25 March 1944, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt training for flight cadets was taken over by the 261st Army Air Force Base Unit.
• The base is located in the southwest corner of Abilene, TX and is about 200 miles west of Dallas.