Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Mount Clemens, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Selfridge Air National Guard Base (MTC), Mount Clemens, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,298 miles (or 10,135 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 Wake Island Airfield and Selfridge Air National Guard 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 Wake Island Airfield and Selfridge Air National Guard 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 Wake Island Airfield (AWK):

• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Wake Island Airfield's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Wake Island Airfield 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 Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• The furthest airport from Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is located 11,652 miles (18,752 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.

Facts about Selfridge Air National Guard Base (MTC):

• The furthest airport from Selfridge Air National Guard Base (MTC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,298 miles (18,182 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Scandal hit Selfridge on 5 May, 1943 when the commander Colonel William Colman was charged with shooting Private William MacRae, a black chauffeur who was assigned to drive him.
• In addition to being known as "Selfridge Air National Guard Base", another name for MTC is "Selfridge ANGB".
• The closest airport to Selfridge Air National Guard Base (MTC) is Coleman A. Young International Airport (DET), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSW of MTC.
• Air races at Selfridge from 1922 through the 1930s included the first John Mitchell Trophy Race, the Pulitzer Trophy Race, and the Curtiss Trophy Race and Boeing Trophy.
• The 1918 Armistice with Germany ended World War I.
• In May 1917, it was announced that Joy Aviation Field would be included as a training Camp as part of the expansion of the Air Service, becoming one of only nine military airfields in the country at the time.
• Selfridge was a World War II army airfield of the First Air Force and the location where Colonel Lawrence P.
• Flying was considered impractical in Michigan during the winter months, so the student pilots were sent to Gerstner Field at Lake Charles, Louisiana, and to Chapman Field at Miami, Florida, and Selfridge was transformed into a mechanics school for the winter months.
• The Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing moved its entire operation from Detroit Metropolitan Airport near Romulus to Selfridge in December, 1970.