Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Jackson, Tennessee, 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 McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL), Jackson, Tennessee, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,533 miles (or 12,122 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 McKellar-Sipes Regional 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 McKellar-Sipes Regional 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):

• Since November 1954, the 18th Wing under various designations has been the main United States Air Force operational unit at Kadena.
• Kadena Air Base, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
• 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.
• Kadena airfield was initially under the control of Seventh Air Force, however on 16 July 1945, Headquarters Eighth Air Force was transferred, without personnel, equipment, or combat elements to the town of Sakugawa, near Kadena from RAF High Wycombe England.
• The McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II replaced the RF-101 in the reconnaissance role in 1967.
• Twentieth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena on 16 May 1949.
• On 7 June 1946, Headquarters Eighth Air Force moved without personnel or equipment to MacDill AAF, Florida.
• 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 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.
• On 30 June 1959 an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire.

Facts about McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL):

• Because of McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at McKellar-Sipes Regional 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.
• McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport is named in memory of Kenneth Douglas McKellar, a U.S.
• The closest airport to McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL) is Roscoe Turner Airport (CRX), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) SSE of MKL.
• McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,072 miles (17,819 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport opened in 1942 as McKellar Field and was assigned to the United States Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center as a primary pilot training airfield.