Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Minden, Nevada, 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 Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), Minden, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,167 miles (or 9,924 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 Minden-Tahoe 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 Minden-Tahoe 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 surrender of Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September.
• On 30 June 1959 an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire.
• The McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II replaced the RF-101 in the reconnaissance role in 1967.
• The mission of NAVCOMM Det Okinawa is to provide communications support for SEVENTH Fleet and supporting units, U.S.
• 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".
• 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 Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV):

• The furthest airport from Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,200 miles (18,025 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• During the winter months, the famous Sierra mountain wave can carry gliders well over 25,000 ft, with the Minden record well over 40,000 ft.
• Because of Minden-Tahoe Airport's high elevation of 4,722 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MEV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MEV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Minden-Tahoe Airport is the base for the "Introduction to Soaring" tutorial mission supplied with Microsoft Flight Simulator X.
• The airport is currently undergoing an expansion plan where glider operations will be moved to the East Side of the airport.
• The closest airport to Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) is Carson Airport (CSN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of MEV.
• The airport is considered a mecca for soaring, and many North American and world records have been flown out of Minden in the many gliders that it hosts.
• Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) has 3 runways.