Nonstop flight route between Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Lodja, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Lodja Airport (LJA), Lodja, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,807 miles (or 12,564 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 Whiteman Air Force Base and Lodja 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 Whiteman Air Force Base and Lodja 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 Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL):

• The Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing and the active-duty 509th Bomb Wing have a unique relationship at Whiteman AFB, in that members of the two units work side-by-side on a daily basis, although the majority of the 131st Bomb Wing visits Whiteman only one weekend per month for drill.
• The contractors used 168,000 yards of concrete, 25,355 tons of reinforcing steel and 15,120 tons of structural steel.
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.
• Named in honor of 2d Lieutenant George Allison Whiteman.
• The furthest airport from Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,815 miles (17,405 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Other aircraft assigned to Whiteman include the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack fighter.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".

Facts about Lodja Airport (LJA):

• Because of Lodja Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Lodja 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.
• The furthest airport from Lodja Airport (LJA) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Lodja Airport (meaning Lodja Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,325 miles (19,835 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Lodja Airport (LJA) is Lusambo Airport (LBO), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) S of LJA.