Nonstop flight route between Stewart Island, New Zealand and Peru, Indiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand and Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS), Peru, Indiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,847 miles (or 14,238 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome and Grissom Air Reserve 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome and Grissom Air Reserve 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):

• In 1990 a hill at one end of the strip was leveled.
• Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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.
• Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• The closest airport to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.

Facts about Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS):

• After World War II, the base area reverted to farming use.
• In addition to being known as "Grissom Air Reserve Base", another name for GUS is "Grissom ARS".
• The United States Navy on 1 July 1942 started Naval Air Station Bunker Hill to train Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard pilots.
• With the retirement of the B-58 in 1970, the Air Force redesignated the 305th Bombardment Wing, Medium, as the 305th Air Refueling Wing on 1 January 1970.
• The 305th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy, provided tanker refueling support to units involved in the invasion of Grenada in October 1983.
• The closest airport to Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Kokomo Municipal Airport (OKK), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of GUS.
• Additionally, Grissom ARB is home to units from the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,184 miles (17,998 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Despite this activity, the end of the Cold War led to a downsizing of the military.
• Effective 1 October 1994, Grissom Air Force Base ceased active-duty operations, and the active Air Force transferred nearly half of the former base, including the runway, to the Air Force Reserve as Grissom Air Reserve Base.
• In June 1972, the 305th Air Refueling Squadron deployed elements to Korat Air Base, Thailand, as the 4104th Air Refueling Squadron.