Nonstop flight route between Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Namatanai, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Namatanai Airport (ATN), Namatanai, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,364 miles (or 13,461 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 Moody Air Force Base and Namatanai 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 Moody Air Force Base and Namatanai 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 Moody Air Force Base (VAD):

• Moody Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located in Lowndes County and Lanier County, about 9 miles northeast of Valdosta, Georgia, United States.
• Forty-two years after Combat Crew training ended at Moody, HQ ACC returned that mission to Moody with the activation of the 479th Flying Training Group under Nineteenth Air Force.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Construction got underway on 28 July 1941 for a twin-engine advanced training base with accommodations for 4,100 men.
• In addition to being known as "Moody Air Force Base", another name for VAD is "Moody AFB".
• On 30 June 1975, the Secretary of the Air Force announced that Moody would transfer from ATC to Tactical Air Command on 1 December 1975.
• 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.

Facts about Namatanai Airport (ATN):

• Namatanai Airport (ATN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Namatanai Airport (ATN) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,818 miles (19,019 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Because of Namatanai Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Namatanai 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 closest airport to Namatanai Airport (ATN) is Lihir Island Regional Airport (LNV), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) NNE of ATN.