Nonstop flight route between Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Mackay, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,568 miles (or 13,789 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 Mackay 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 Mackay 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 Navy Reserve's Maritime Expeditionary Security Division 11, which provides light, mobile, short-duration, point defense Anti-Terrorism Force Protection forces for USN ships and aircraft and other high value assets in locations where U.S.
• 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".
• After the mission change in 1963, life on Whiteman remained relatively stable throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
• In the opening months of 1945 Sedalia AAFld began converting from C-47s to C-46s.
• The 476th Fighter Group, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, is an Air Force Reserve Command unit linked to the 23rd Fighter Group at Moody.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.

Facts about Mackay Airport (MKY):

• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Mackay Airport (MKY) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,973 miles (19,269 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
• Because of Mackay Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Mackay 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.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• In November 2008, Mackay Airport was sold to a private consortium to fund the development of Mackay Hospital.
• Mackay is a thriving mining, agricultural, industrial and regional business centre that also supports a growing tourism industry and is a gateway to the Whitsunday coast and islands.
• Moves to establish an airport at Mackay began in 1927, when Captain Ron Adair selected the site of the town commons for the construction of an aerodrome, and landed the first plane in Mackay there, his own Avro biplane.