Nonstop flight route between Lubango, Angola and Del Rio, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD), Lubango, Angola and Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,171 miles (or 13,151 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 Lubango Mukanka Airport and Laughlin 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 Lubango Mukanka Airport and Laughlin 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 Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD):

• The furthest airport from Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD) is Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), which is nearly antipodal to Lubango Mukanka Airport (meaning Lubango Mukanka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Johnston Atoll Airport), and is located 12,195 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
• The closest airport to Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD) is Vila Roçadas/Xangongo Airport (XGN), which is located 156 miles (252 kilometers) SE of SDD.
• Because of Lubango Mukanka Airport's high elevation of 5,778 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SDD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SDD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Lubango Mukanka Airport", other names for SDD include "Aeroporto Lubango Mukanka (Lubango (Sá da Bandeira))" and "Aeroporto de Lubango".
• Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF):

• The Air Force transferred jurisdiction of the base to the Strategic Air Command on April 1, 1957 and the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing moved there from Turner Air Force Base, Georgia.
• Laughlin U-2s were among the first to provide photographic evidence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba in 1962 when 4080th U-2 pilot Major Steve Heyser flew his U-2C over Cuba after taking off from Edwards AFB, California.
• The furthest airport from Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,091 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 1961, Headquarters US Air Force notified Laughlin officials their mission would expand to again include an Air Training Command undergraduate pilot training program.
• The closest airport to Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Del Rio International Airport (DRT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of DLF.
• Today, aircraft flown at Laughlin include the T-6A Texan II, the T-38C Talon and T-1A Jayhawk.
• Laughlin AFB, the largest pilot training base in the USAF, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Education and Training Command.
• As of the census of 2014, there were 2,225 people, 651 households, and 570 families residing on the base.