Nonstop flight route between Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Hawker, South Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Wilpena Pound (HWK), Hawker, South Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,985 miles (or 16,069 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 Wilpena Pound, 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 Wilpena Pound. 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):

• As part of the implementation of the Objective Wing concept, the 347th was redesignated as the 347th Fighter Wing on 1 October 1991.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Moody Air Force Base", another name for VAD is "Moody AFB".

Facts about Wilpena Pound (HWK):

• The furthest airport from Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,642 miles (18,736 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The Browne brothers eventually won the claim for Wilpena from Bagot, and the young Henry Strong Price opened up and ran the 40,000-hectare station for them.
• The closest airport to Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Leigh Creek Airport (LGH), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) N of HWK.
• The peaks are very rugged, and thick scrub and timber inside the pound can make navigation difficult.
• Because of Wilpena Pound's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilpena Pound 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 wall of mountains almost completely encircles the gently-sloping interior of the Pound, with the only breaks being the gorge at Wilpena Gap and a high saddle in the south-western range over which the Heysen Trail passes.