Nonstop flight route between Spokane, Washington, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SKA to MEL:
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- About this route
- SKA Airport Information
- MEL Airport Information
- Facts about SKA
- Facts about MEL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SKA
- List of Nearest Airports to SKA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SKA
- List of Furthest Airports from SKA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MEL
- List of Nearest Airports to MEL
- Map of Furthest Airports from MEL
- List of Furthest Airports from MEL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,388 miles (or 13,500 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Melbourne 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Melbourne Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SKA / KSKA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Spokane, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°36'54"N by 117°39'20"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SKA |
More Information: | SKA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MEL / YMML |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°40'23"S by 144°50'35"E |
Area Served: | Melbourne |
Operator/Owner: | Australia Pacific Airports Corporation Limited |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 434 feet (132 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MEL |
More Information: | MEL Maps & Info |
Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):
- As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base.
- The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
- Over 5,100 active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, and tenant organization military and civilian employees work on Fairchild, making the base the largest employer in Eastern Washington.
- 7 December 1993 marked the beginning of a significant change in the mission of Fairchild when the B-52s were transferred to another ACC base while the KC-135s, now assigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command would remain.
- Fairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately 12 miles southwest of Spokane, Washington.
- In June 1992, with the inactivation of Strategic Air Command, the B-52 portion of the wing became part of the newly established Air Combat Command and was re-designated the 92d Bomb Wing.
- In late 1974, the Air Force announced plans to convert the 141st Fighter Interceptor Group of the Washington Air National Guard, an F-101 Voodoo unit at Geiger Field, to an air refueling mission with KC-135 aircraft.
- On 23 January 1987, following the inactivation of the 47th Air Division at Fairchild, the 92nd Bombardment Wing was reassigned to the 57th Air Division at Minot AFB, North Dakota.
- In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):
- The international terminal contains works by noted Australian Indigenous artists including Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri and Gloria Petyarre.
- In May 1959 it was announced that a new airport would be built at Tullamarine, with Prime Minister Robert Menzies announcing on 27 November 1962 a five-year plan to provide Melbourne with a A$45 million "jetport" by 1967.
- In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
- Since privatisation, further improvements to infrastructure have begun at the airport, including expansion of runways, car parks and terminals.
- The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
- The search for a replacement for Essendon commenced in February 1958, when a panel was appointed to assess Melbourne's civil aviation needs.
- The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
- Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
- Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
- Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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 Southern Freighter Apron has five dedicated freighter parking positions which host 21 dedicated freighter operations a week.