Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Klawock, Alaska, 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 Klawock Airport (KLW), Klawock, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,072 miles (or 8,162 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 Klawock 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 Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō and Klawock 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 Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• The designation of the wing changed on 1 October 1991 to the 18th Wing with the implementation of the Objective Wing concept.
• 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.
• Upon its reassignment to the Pacific Theater, Eighth Air Force was assigned to the U.S.
• Since November 1954, the 18th Wing under various designations has been the main United States Air Force operational unit at Kadena.
• Kadena Air Base's history dates back to just before the 1 April 1945, Battle of Okinawa, when a local construction firm completed a small airfield named Yara Hikojo near the island's village of Kadena.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• 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.

Facts about Klawock Airport (KLW):

• The closest airport to Klawock Airport (KLW) is Craig Seaplane Base (CGA), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSW of KLW.
• The furthest airport from Klawock Airport (KLW) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,638 miles (17,120 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• During a post-accident inspection, maintenance personnel discovered a broken landing gear oleo attachment bracket on the left main landing gear strut assembly.
• Because of Klawock Airport's relatively low elevation of 80 feet, planes can take off or land at Klawock 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.
• Klawock Airport (KLW) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Klawock Airport", another name for KLW is "AKW".