Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and De Ridder, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Beauregard Regional AirportDeRidder Army Air Base (DRI), De Ridder, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,643 miles (or 12,301 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 Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō and Beauregard Regional AirportDeRidder Army Air 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 Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō and Beauregard Regional AirportDeRidder Army Air 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 Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• At the end of the Eisenhower presidency, around 1,700 nuclear weapons were deployed on shore in the Pacific, 800 of which were at Kadena Air Base.
• The furthest airport from Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (meaning Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• In 1972, the 1st Special Operations Squadron was assigned, bringing their specialized Lockheed C/MC-130 Hercules aircraft to the wing.
• What the Americans captured was a 4,600 feet strip of badly-damaged coral runway.
• The surrender of Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September.
• The closest airport to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of DNA.
• Since November 1954, the 18th Wing under various designations has been the main United States Air Force operational unit at Kadena.

Facts about Beauregard Regional AirportDeRidder Army Air Base (DRI):

• Beauregard Regional Airport covers an area of 4,300 acres at an elevation of 202 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Beauregard Regional AirportDeRidder Army Air Base (DRI) is Chennault International Airport (CWF), which is located 44 miles (72 kilometers) SSE of DRI.
• Beauregard Regional AirportDeRidder Army Air Base (DRI) has 2 runways.
• The sawmill had been built along the Santa Fe Railroad tracks with the planer mill on one side of the tracks and the big mill, commissary, and office on the other side of the tracks.
• The Beauregard Parish Police Jury bought the previously leased 160 acres plus an additional 280 acres for $11,000.
• Because of Beauregard Regional AirportDeRidder Army Air Base's relatively low elevation of 202 feet, planes can take off or land at Beauregard Regional AirportDeRidder Army Air Base 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 Beauregard Regional AirportDeRidder Army Air Base (DRI) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,994 miles (17,693 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In late 1942, the airfield was reassigned to III Tactical Air Command which performed medium and light bomber tactical bomber training.