Nonstop flight route between Bakersfield, California, United States and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Meadows Field (BFL), Bakersfield, California, United States and Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,937 miles (or 3,117 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 relatively short distance between Meadows Field and Kincheloe Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Meadows Field (BFL):

• Kern County Air Terminal has three open air gates, and is currently closed.
• The furthest airport from Meadows Field (BFL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,406 miles (18,356 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• With the end of the war, the base was declared excess to requirements and returned to civil control.
• In addition to being known as "Meadows Field", another name for BFL is "Kern County Airport No. 1".
• Meadows Field is a county-owned, public-use airport in Kern County, California, three miles northwest of downtown Bakersfield, California.
• Meadows Field (BFL) has 2 runways.
• Public transportation to the airport is provided exclusively by Golden Empire Transit.
• Because of Meadows Field's relatively low elevation of 510 feet, planes can take off or land at Meadows Field 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 Meadows Field (BFL) is Shafter Airport (MIT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) WNW of BFL.
• United Airlines served Meadows Field from 1946 until 1979–80 and again for three years starting around 1984.

Facts about Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR):

• In 1962, in order to retain the lineage of its MAJCOM 4-digit combat units and to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its MAJCOM strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate AFCON units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.
• The furthest airport from Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of INR.
• After the war, the airfield then served as a hub for private and commercial aviation.
• Kinross was considered a vital Air Defense Command base, an alert-status military base equipped with interceptors ready 24/7 to respond to unknown aircraft picked up by Ground Control Radar stations in the Great Lakes region.
• In September 1959, Kinross AFB was officially renamed Kincheloe Air Force Base in honor of the late Captain Iven Kincheloe, a native of Cassopolis in southwestern Michigan.
• The importance of Kincheloe AFB to ADC was evident in 1960 with some major changes.