Nonstop flight route between Tarawa, Kiribati and Valdosta, Georgia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bonriki International Airport (TRW), Tarawa, Kiribati and Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,975 miles (or 11,226 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 Bonriki International Airport and Moody 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 Bonriki International Airport and Moody 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 Bonriki International Airport (TRW):

• In April 1944, the land-based units moved forward to Kwajalein Airfield in the Marshall Islands, and shortly thereafter, Mullinix was reduced to an emergency airfield.
• The furthest airport from Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Bonriki International Airport (meaning Bonriki International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,035 miles (19,368 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• The closest airport to Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNW of TRW.
• Bonriki International Airport is an international airport in Kiribati, serving as the main gateway to the country.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 9 feet above mean sea level.
• Bonriki International Airport (TRW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Bonriki International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Bonriki International 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 airport is the hub of the only two Kiribati airlines, flag carrier Air Kiribati and the 2009-established Coral Sun Airways, with both airlines mainly flying domestic routes within the Gilbert Islands.

Facts about Moody Air Force Base (VAD):

• Construction got underway on 28 July 1941 for a twin-engine advanced training base with accommodations for 4,100 men.
• To inject more realism into the training, ATC made arrangements with Strategic Air Command to allow instructor pilots to fly intercept missions against SAC bombers with F-86D Sabre, With the addition of interceptor crew training and the acquisition of interceptor aircraft, HQ USAF decided effective 20 October 1953 to assign ATC responsibility for supporting Air Defense Command's interceptor forces.
• The furthest airport from Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Kalbarri Airport (KAX), which is located 11,363 miles (18,286 kilometers) away in Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1961, Foreign Pilot Training was transferred to Moody from the closing of the Graham Air Base contract pilot school in Marianna, Florida.
• The closest airport to Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Valdosta Regional AirportValdosta Army Auxiliary Airfield (VLD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) SSW of VAD.
• As part of the realignment of the post Cold-War Air Force, HQ ACC converted and realigned the 347th Fighter Wing to the 347th Wing on 1 July 1994, with a new mission being that of a force projection, air/land composite wing.
• The base had its beginning in 1940 when a group of concerned Valdosta and Lowndes County citizens began searching for a way to assist the expanding defense program.
• Under SAC, Moody was assigned to the Second Air Force and the 40th Air Division.
• On 8 January 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 29th Flying Training Wing at Moody and assigned it to the AAF Eastern Flying Training Command.
• In addition to being known as "Moody Air Force Base", another name for VAD is "Moody AFB".
• Originally named Valdosta Airfield when it opened on 15 September 1941, the airfield was renamed Moody Army Airfield on 6 December 1941 in honor of Major George Putnam Moody, an early Air Force pioneer.