Nonstop flight route between Big Mountain, Alaska, United States and Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX), Big Mountain, Alaska, United States and Saipan International Airport (SPN), Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,247 miles (or 6,834 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 Big Mountain Air Force Station and Saipan International Airport, 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 Big Mountain Air Force Station and Saipan International Airport. 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 Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX):

• The closest airport to Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX) is Kokhanok Airport (KNK), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of BMX.
• Because of Big Mountain Air Force Station's relatively low elevation of 663 feet, planes can take off or land at Big Mountain Air Force Station 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 Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,683 miles (17,193 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Big Mountain Air Force Station", another name for BMX is "37AK".
• Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Saipan International Airport (SPN):

• After several months of disappointing high level bombing attacks from Isely, General Curtis LeMay, Commander of Twentieth Air Force issued a new directive that the high-altitude, daylight attacks be phased out and replaced by low-altitude, high-intensity incendiary raids at nighttime, being followed up with high explosive bombs once the targets were set ablaze.
• Because of Saipan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Saipan International 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 closest airport to Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Tinian International Airport (TIQ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of SPN.
• With the end of the war the wing's four bomb groups were all returned to the United States, with their B-29s either being flown to Clark Air Base in the Philippines for scrapping, or were flown to storage facilities in Texas or Arizona.
• The furthest airport from Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Saipan International Airport (meaning Saipan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,125 miles (19,514 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• The IJNAS assigned two squadrons of Mitsubishi A6M5a-52 Zeros to the airfield in mid-June 1944.
• In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".
• A Star Marianas plane crashed during takeoff on November 17, 2012 on its return from Tinian.
• Saipan International Airport (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.