Nonstop flight route between Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Cairns, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,224 miles (or 14,844 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 Cairns 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 Cairns 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):

• 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.
• The 347th flew the McDonnel-Douglas F-4E until 1988, when it upgraded to the Block 15 General Dynamics F-16A/B.
• In 1961, Foreign Pilot Training was transferred to Moody from the closing of the Graham Air Base contract pilot school in Marianna, Florida.
• 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.
• 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.
• Under SAC, Moody was assigned to the Second Air Force and the 40th Air Division.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Moody Air Force Base", another name for VAD is "Moody AFB".

Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):

• The airport has direct flights to 20 international and 44 domestic destinations and many general aviation flights including a number of helicopter operators.
• Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
• Short-term and long-term parking, including a covered car park and parking for people with a disability are located within the public carparks adjacent to both the Domestic and International Terminals.
• A$200 million redevelopment of the Domestic terminal started in August 2007 and was completed in 2010.
• The airport has two passenger terminals on the eastern side of the airport on reclaimed mangrove swamp.
• Because of Cairns Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Cairns 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.
• Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
• The furthest airport from Cairns Airport (CNS) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,832 miles (19,041 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.