Nonstop flight route between Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia and Merced, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL), Shellharbour, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia and Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,545 miles (or 12,142 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 Merced Regional 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 Illawarra Regional Airport and Merced Regional 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 Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL):

• 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.
• As early as the 1920s, aviators had used fields in the Albion Park area for joy flights and demonstrations.
• In addition to being known as "Illawarra Regional Airport", another name for WOL is "Wollongong Airport".
• Illawarra Regional Airport, owned and operated by Shellharbour City Council, is located at the intersection of the F6, Princes Highway and Illawarra Highway at Albion Park Rail.
• Following the war, Trans Australia Airlines and Australian National Airways linked the airport with Canberra and Melbourne until 1950.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) is Camden Aerodrome (CDU), which is located 36 miles (59 kilometers) N of WOL.
• Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL) has 2 runways.
• The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society is based at Illawarra Regional Airport.

Facts about Merced Regional Airport (MCE):

• Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced 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.
• In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
• The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.
• Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport had 3,724 passenger boardings in 2012, an increase of 17% from the previous calendar year.
• On March 15, 1932 the Merced City Council accepted the title to the site of an airport as a gift from the Twenty-Thirty Club and the Crocker-Huffman Company.
• United's DC-3s were replaced by Convair 340s and Douglas DC-6s, and eventually by Boeing 737-200 jetliners in 1968-69.
• The furthest airport from Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The airport was formerly served by Air Pacific, American Eagle, Golden Gate Airlines, United Airlines, United Express and US Airways Express.
• On May 15, 2011 Great Lakes Airlines commenced daily service to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, with a stop in Visalia, California.