Nonstop flight route between Abilene, Texas, United States and Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), Abilene, Texas, United States and Kumamoto Airport (KMJ), Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,848 miles (or 11,021 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 Dyess Air Force Base and Kumamoto 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 Dyess Air Force Base and Kumamoto 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 Dyess Air Force Base (DYS):

• The closest airport to Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DYS.
• In addition to being known as "Dyess Air Force Base", another name for DYS is "Dyess AFB".
• The furthest airport from Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,080 miles (17,831 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Dyess AFB was established in 1942 as Abilene Army Air Base.
• With the end of the war, the base was declared inactive on 31 January 1946.
• The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing of the Air Combat Command, which was activated on 1 October 1993.
• Dyess AFB is also home to several tenant units, including Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 222.
• Units stationed at Dyess Air Force Base while the 5/517th was operational included SAC's 819th Strategic Aerospace Division, the 96th BW, and the 578th Strategic Missile Squadron.
• Shortly after the Korean War broke out, the city of Abilene called for the need of a military installation.
• On 1 December 1956, the name of the base was changed to "Dyess Air Force Base" in honor of the late Lt Col William E.

Facts about Kumamoto Airport (KMJ):

• Kumamoto Airport Driveway
• In addition to being known as "Kumamoto Airport", other names for KMJ include "熊本空港" and "Kumamoto Kūkō".
• The first Kumamoto Airport opened in 1960 on the site of a former Imperial Japanese Army air base and had a 1,200 m runway.
• The furthest airport from Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Kumamoto Airport (meaning Kumamoto Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,253 miles (19,720 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) NW of KMJ.
• Because of Kumamoto Airport's relatively low elevation of 632 feet, planes can take off or land at Kumamoto 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.
• Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) currently has only 1 runway.