Nonstop flight route between Kikaiga Shima, Kikai-Shima Island, Japan and Columbus, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kikai Airport (KKX), Kikaiga Shima, Kikai-Shima Island, Japan and Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,473 miles (or 12,027 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 Kikai Airport and Columbus 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 Kikai Airport and Columbus 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 Kikai Airport (KKX):

• In addition to being known as "Kikai Airport", other names for KKX include "Kikai/Kikaigashima Island Airport", "喜界空港" and "Kikai Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Kikai Airport (KKX) is Amami Airport (ASJ), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) WNW of KKX.
• Because of Kikai Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Kikai 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.
• Kikai Airport (KKX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kikai Airport (KKX) is Antônio Correia Pinto de Macedo Airport (LAJ), which is nearly antipodal to Kikai Airport (meaning Kikai Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Antônio Correia Pinto de Macedo Airport), and is located 12,397 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Facts about Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• Columbus AFB has been training Air Force pilots since World War II, and that mission continues today.
• The base began as a training facility for fighters and bombers.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• With the Korean War at an end and pilot production needs dropping, the decision was made to close the contract flying school at Columbus.
• Columbus AFB was established in 1941 as Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Columbus, Mississippi.
• As the demand for pilots to support the war in Southeast Asia increased, the number of B-52s based stateside fell because they were needed overseas.
• But while the Air Force’s pilot training requirements were decreasing, its strategic air arm was expanding.During the 1950s, Strategic Air Command wings had become extremely large.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.
• The Columbus flying school received its first aircraft, nine Beech AT-10s and twenty-one AT-8s in early 1942.