Nonstop flight route between Sweetwater, Texas, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Avenger Field (SWW), Sweetwater, Texas, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,285 miles (or 11,724 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 Avenger Field and Buka Island 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 Avenger Field and Buka Island 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 Avenger Field (SWW):

• Avenger Field covers 896 acres at an elevation of 2,380 feet.
• Avenger Field (SWW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Avenger Field (SWW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,107 miles (17,874 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Avenger Field is a Texas airport in Nolan County, three miles west of the City of Sweetwater, which owns it.
• The closest airport to Avenger Field (SWW) is Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) E of SWW.
• The WASPs were employed under the Civil Service program.
• In addition to being known as "Avenger Field", another name for SWW is "(former Avenger Army Airfield)".
• Today, most of the cold war air force station has been redeveloped and new buildings have taken their place.
• The United States Air Force Air Defense Command exercised a right of return to Avenger Field in 1955 when Sweetwater Air Force Station was established as a USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Station.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka Island 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.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip.