Nonstop flight route between San Bernardino, California, United States and Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States and Mbandaka Airport (MDK), Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,720 miles (or 14,033 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 Norton Air Force Base and Mbandaka 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 Norton Air Force Base and Mbandaka 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 Norton Air Force Base (SBD):

• Norton Air Force Base was named for San Bernardino native Captain Leland Francis Norton.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
• The SAGE Direction Center closed in 1966 along with the other ADC facilities at Norton.
• Discrete C-130 Hercules modification tests were conducted out of Area II of the base in the late 1960s, with the 1198th Operational Evaluation and Training Squadron operating four highly classified C-130E special operations testbeds modified at Lockheed Air Services, at near-by Ontario Airport under projects Thin Slice and Heavy Chain.
• The furthest airport from Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,447 miles (18,423 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The aviation facilities of the base were converted into San Bernardino International Airport, and 3 of the 4 stationed squadrons – C-141 Starlifter, C-21, and C-12 Huron aircraft – were moved to nearby March Air Force Base, while the remaining squadron – C-141 aircraft – was moved to McChord Air Force Base, Washington.
• For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility for a variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies as part of Air Materiel/Air Force Logistics Command, then as part of Military Airlift/Air Mobility Command.
• The closest airport to Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is San Bernardino International Airport (SBT), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) S of SBD.

Facts about Mbandaka Airport (MDK):

• The closest airport to Mbandaka Airport (MDK) is Impfondo Airport (ION), which is located 110 miles (176 kilometers) N of MDK.
• Mbandaka Airport (MDK) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mbandaka Airport", other names for MDK include "Aéroport de Mbandaka" and "Mbandaka Airport".
• The furthest airport from Mbandaka Airport (MDK) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Mbandaka Airport (meaning Mbandaka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,105 miles (19,481 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.