Nonstop flight route between Eek, Alaska, United States and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eek Airport (EEK), Eek, Alaska, United States and Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,144 miles (or 5,060 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 Eek Airport and Kincheloe Air Force Base, 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 Eek Airport and Kincheloe Air Force Base. 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 Eek Airport (EEK):

• A federally funded project relocated the airport to a new location about two miles west of Eek.
• The closest airport to Eek Airport (EEK) is Tuntutuliak Airport (WTL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) WNW of EEK.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, this airport had 3,759 passenger boardings in calendar year 2007, an increase of 16% from the 3,241 enplanements in 2006.
• Because of Eek Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Eek 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.
• Eek Airport (EEK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Eek Airport has one runway designated 17/35 with a 3,243 x 60 ft gravel surface.
• The furthest airport from Eek Airport (EEK) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,623 miles (17,096 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.

Facts about Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR):

• On 2 February 1959, Strategic Air Command established the 4239th Strategic Wing at Kincheloe AFB, Michigan as part of SAC's plan to disburse its B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• The closest airport to Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of INR.
• In 1962, in order to retain the lineage of its MAJCOM 4-digit combat units and to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its MAJCOM strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate AFCON units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.
• Next, Kincheloe AFB was assigned to the Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector at K.
• Kinross was considered a vital Air Defense Command base, an alert-status military base equipped with interceptors ready 24/7 to respond to unknown aircraft picked up by Ground Control Radar stations in the Great Lakes region.
• The importance of Kincheloe AFB to ADC was evident in 1960 with some major changes.
• The furthest airport from Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 16 February 1953, the first operational ADC unit, the 534th Air Defense Group was activated at Kinross AFB.
• In October, 1952, the 4685th Air Base Squadron was assigned to the reactivated Kinross AFB.