Nonstop flight route between Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Drake Bay, Costa Rica:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from VAD to DRK:
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- About this route
- VAD Airport Information
- DRK Airport Information
- Facts about VAD
- Facts about DRK
- Map of Nearest Airports to VAD
- List of Nearest Airports to VAD
- Map of Furthest Airports from VAD
- List of Furthest Airports from VAD
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRK
- List of Nearest Airports to DRK
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRK
- List of Furthest Airports from DRK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Drake Bay Airport (DRK), Drake Bay, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,537 miles (or 2,473 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 relatively short distance between Moody Air Force Base and Drake Bay Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VAD / KVAD |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Valdosta, Georgia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 30°58'4"N by 83°11'34"W |
View all routes: | Routes from VAD |
More Information: | VAD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DRK / MRDK |
Airport Name: | Drake Bay Airport |
Location: | Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
GPS Coordinates: | 8°43'58"N by 83°39'0"W |
Area Served: | Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
Operator/Owner: | n/a |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DRK |
More Information: | DRK Maps & Info |
Facts about Moody Air Force Base (VAD):
- 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".
- In 1961, Foreign Pilot Training was transferred to Moody from the closing of the Graham Air Base contract pilot school in Marianna, Florida.
- 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.
- Following the end of the war, activity at Moody diminished to the point that 24 of the 93 A-26s had to be placed in flyable storage.
- 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.
- 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.
- On 1 December 1975, the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, a unit of the Tactical Air Command, relocated to Moody from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand.
- The wing executes worldwide close air support, force protection, and combat search and rescue operations in support of humanitarian interests, United States national security and the global war on terrorism.
- 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.
Facts about Drake Bay Airport (DRK):
- Because of Drake Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Drake Bay 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 Drake Bay Airport (DRK) is Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ), which is located only 20 miles (31 kilometers) NE of DRK.
- Drake Bay Airport (DRK) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Drake Bay Airport (DRK) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Drake Bay Airport (meaning Drake Bay Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,196 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.