Nonstop flight route between Airlie Beach, Australia and Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whitsunday Airport (WSY), Airlie Beach, Australia and Patrick Air Force Base (COF), Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,300 miles (or 14,967 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 Whitsunday Airport and Patrick Air Force Base, 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 Whitsunday Airport and Patrick Air Force Base. 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 Whitsunday Airport (WSY):

• Whitsunday Airport (WSY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Whitsunday Airport (WSY) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,982 miles (19,283 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Because of Whitsunday Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Whitsunday 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 Whitsunday Airport (WSY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) ESE of WSY.
• In addition to being known as "Whitsunday Airport", another name for WSY is "Shute Harbour Airport".

Facts about Patrick Air Force Base (COF):

• US Navy Boeing E-6 Mercury aircraft, part of Operation Looking Glass, were sometimes seen at Patrick AFB during the 2010-11 time frame and were often mistaken by onlookers for the previously retired VC-137 Presidential aircraft, which looks similar.
• Additional tenant activities at Patrick AFB include the 920th Rescue Wing, the Air Force Technical Applications Center and the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute.
• The furthest airport from Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,550 miles (18,587 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Patrick Air Force Base", another name for COF is "Patrick AFB".
• The host wing for Patrick AFB is the 45th Space Wing, whose officers and airmen manage all launches of unmanned rockets at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 12 miles to the north.
• Three months after World War II, on December 5, 1945, NAS Banana River had an ancillary role in the disappearance of Flight 19, a formation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, which had departed NAS Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a routine over-water training mission.
• In 1971, the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute was established at Patrick AFB.
• Authorized by the Naval Expansion Act of 1938, Naval Air Station Banana River was commissioned on October 1, 1940 as a subordinate base of the Naval Air Operational Training Command NAS Jacksonville, Florida.
• The closest airport to Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Merritt Island Airport (COI), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NNW of COF.