Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Riverside, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,708 miles (or 7,577 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 March Air Reserve 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 March Air Reserve 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):

• After pioneering air service into Wake Island in 1935, Pan American World Airways continued to serve the airfield for many years.
• From 1935 until 1940, when two typhoons swept Wake with resultant extensive damage to the now elaborately developed Pan American facilities, development and use of the base were steady but uneventful.
• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 26 December 1940, implementing the Hepburn Board's recommendations, a pioneer party of 80 men and 2,000 short tons of equipment sailed for Wake Island from Oahu.
• 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.
• Another airline that operated into Wake Island was Philippine Airlines with Douglas DC-8 jetliners on a daily westbound service from San Francisco and Honolulu to Manila during the early 1970s.
• 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.
• Wake Island Airfield is a military airport located on Wake Island, which is known for the Battle of Wake Island.

Facts about March Air Reserve Base (RIV):

• The furthest airport from March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,461 miles (18,445 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.
• March Air Reserve Base, previously known as March Air Force Base is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside and Moreno Valley.
• The Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 quickly brought March Field back into the business of training aircrews.
• Detached from the wing, the 22d Bombardment Group deployed its B-29s in early July 1950 to Kadena AB, Okinawa, where it came under control of FEAF Bomber Command.
• March Field served as a base for primary flight training with an eight-week course.
• At the same time, the War Department announced its intentions to build several new military installations.
• After the war, March was assigned to the new Tactical Air Command as part of the postwar reorganization of the Army Air Force.