Nonstop flight route between Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia and Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL), Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,519 miles (or 16,928 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 Illawarra Regional Airport and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375, 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 Illawarra Regional Airport and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375. 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 Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL):

• In addition to being known as "Illawarra Regional Airport", another name for WOL is "Wollongong Airport".
• The closest airport to Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) is Camden Aerodrome (CDU), which is located 36 miles (59 kilometers) N of WOL.
• The furthest airport from Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is nearly antipodal to Illawarra Regional Airport (meaning Illawarra Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Horta International Airport), and is located 12,162 miles (19,573 kilometers) away in Horta, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of Illawarra Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Illawarra Regional 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.
• Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) has 2 runways.
• Following the war, Trans Australia Airlines and Australian National Airways linked the airport with Canberra and Melbourne until 1950.
• Illawarra Regional Airport is an airport located 18 km southwest of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
• There is no control tower located at the airport and pilots must co-ordinate arrivals and departures using a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency, aided by an Aerodrome Frequency Response Unit, which notifies pilots that their transmissions have been received on the frequency and activates lighting systems as appropriate.

Facts about RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ):

• The closest airport to RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of BEQ.
• English Electric Canberra bomber squadrons, 10, XV, 44, and 57 were based at RAF Honington from February 1955 to 1957.
• The 364th FG flew escort, dive-bombing, strafing, and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
• The furthest airport from RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,834 miles (19,044 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Although the last mission by the 364th took place on 25 April 1945, the group did not depart until November, returning to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, for inactivation.
• Honington was the last USAAF station to be returned to the RAF.