Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and West Wyalong, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and West Wyalong Airport (WWY), West Wyalong, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,356 miles (or 7,010 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 West Wyalong 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 West Wyalong 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):

• 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.
• On 7 June 1946, Headquarters Eighth Air Force moved without personnel or equipment to MacDill AAF, Florida.
• On 30 June 1959 an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire.
• During the 1968 Pueblo crisis, the 18th deployed between January and June to Osan Air Base, South Korea following the North Korean seizure of the vessel.
• Twentieth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena on 16 May 1949.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Beginning in 1961, the 18th was sending its tactical squadrons frequently to South Vietnam and Thailand, initially with its RF-101 reconnaissance forces, and beginning in 1964 with its tactical fighter forces supporting USAF combat missions in the Vietnam War.

Facts about West Wyalong Airport (WWY):

• West Wyalong Airport (WWY) has 2 runways.
• Currently West Wyalong is not serviced by any scheduled flights, but throughout the airport's history it has been served by many regional airlines.
• The furthest airport from West Wyalong Airport (WWY) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is nearly antipodal to West Wyalong Airport (meaning West Wyalong Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Horta International Airport), and is located 12,047 miles (19,387 kilometers) away in Horta, Azores, Portugal.
• Regional Express Airlines provided twice weekly service to Sydney commencing in March 2005.
• The closest airport to West Wyalong Airport (WWY) is Forbes Airport (FRB), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NE of WWY.
• Because of West Wyalong Airport's relatively low elevation of 859 feet, planes can take off or land at West Wyalong 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.