Nonstop flight route between Abaiang, Kiribati and Minot, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF), Abaiang, Kiribati and Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,924 miles (or 9,534 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 Abaiang Atoll Airport and Minot 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 Abaiang Atoll Airport and Minot 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 Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF):

• Because of Abaiang Atoll Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Abaiang Atoll 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 furthest airport from Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Abaiang Atoll Airport (meaning Abaiang Atoll Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• The closest airport to Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF) is Marakei Airport (MZK), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) NE of ABF.

Facts about Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• Renamed Aerospace Defense Command in 1968, ADC F-106 operations continued at Minot until ADC was deactivated in 1979 and became a part of Tactical Air Command as a subentity referred to as Tactical Air Command – Air Defense.
• replaced by the 5th Bombardment Wing
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• The 862d Combat Support Group was deactivated on 31 July 1972, with host unit duties being taken over by the 91st Combat Support Group.
• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 4th Post Attack Command & Control Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, SD maintained several EC-135 "Looking Glass" Aircraft on an alert at MAFB for coverage of the missile squadrons as a secondary Launch Control Center.
• The 91st Maintenance Group is the maintenance backbone of the 91st Missile Wing, originally activated as the 91st Maintenance and Supply Group on 10 November 1948.
• Following the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-81, SAC tasked the former 57th Air Division to organize the Strategic Projection Force.