Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Borden, Ontario, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Canadian Forces Base Borden (YBN), Borden, Ontario, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,371 miles (or 10,253 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 Canadian Forces Base Borden, 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 Canadian Forces Base Borden. 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):

• On 31 August 2006, the super typhoon Ioke struck Wake Island.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• Between 5 and 29 May 1935, Pan American's air base construction vessel, North Haven, landed supplies and equipment on Wilkes Island for eventual rehandling to Peale Island which, because of its more suitable soil and geology, had been selected as site for the PAA seaplane base.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
• 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.
• 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 first intention to build an air base surfaced in 1935, when Pan American World Airways selected Wake Island as an intermediate support base for their routes to the Far East, especially the Philippines.

Facts about Canadian Forces Base Borden (YBN):

• In addition to being known as "Canadian Forces Base Borden", other names for YBN include "16 Wing Borden" and "Borden Heliport".
• Because of Canadian Forces Base Borden's relatively low elevation of 729 feet, planes can take off or land at Canadian Forces Base Borden 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 Canadian Forces Base Borden (YBN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,364 miles (18,288 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The Air Force Annex of the Base Borden Military Museum is dedicated to the memory of First World War Victoria Cross recipient Lieutenant Alan McLeod, the youngest Canadian Airman to receive the award.
• The closest airport to Canadian Forces Base Borden (YBN) is Buttonville Airport (YKZ), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) SE of YBN.
• At the height of the First World War, the Borden Military Camp opened at a location on a glacial moraine west of Barrie in 1916 to train units for the Canadian Expeditionary Force.