Nonstop flight route between Junction City, Kansas, United States and Fukuoka, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI), Junction City, Kansas, United States and Fukuoka Airport (FUK), Fukuoka, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,579 miles (or 10,588 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 Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base and Fukuoka 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 Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base and Fukuoka 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 Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI):

• During the war the old strips had to be surfaced and lengthened to take increased traffic and heavier, faster planes.
• Marshall Army Airfield is a military airfield located on Fort Riley, Kansas.
• One of the oldest military airfields in the United States, Marshall Army Airfield at Fort Riley, made its first appearance in history in November 1912 as the site of the first attempts in the United States to direct artillery fire from an airplane.
• A base detachment activated in January 1941 to operate the field was designated in January 1942 as the 305th Air Base Squadron, but in June it was renamed the 305th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron.
• In addition to being known as "Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base", another name for FRI is "Marshall AAF".
• The furthest airport from Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,654 miles (17,146 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI) is Manhattan Regional Airport (MHK), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NE of FRI.
• With the establishment of the United States Air Force in September 1947, the name of Marchall was changed to Marshall Air Force Base.
• Big news arrived on 21 July 1955, with receipt of a directive to activate the first Army Aviation Unit Training Command at Fort Riley.

Facts about Fukuoka Airport (FUK):

• The Japanese Air Force's 6th Fighter Wing replaced the trainers and Mushiroda became an air defense base.
• In addition to being known as "Fukuoka Airport", other names for FUK include "福岡空港" and "Fukuoka KūkōItazuke Air Base".
• The closest airport to Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) SSW of FUK.
• In the mid-1990s, Delta Air Lines operated a non-stop flight between Fukuoka and its transpacific hub in Portland, Oregon, but later dropped the route due to financial pressure.
• The furthest airport from Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Fukuoka Airport (meaning Fukuoka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,253 miles (19,719 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Fukuoka Airport (FUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Fukuoka Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Fukuoka 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.
• The 8th was reassigned back to the United States in July 1964 to George AFB, California where it was equipped with the new F-4C Phantom II and eventually became a major USAF combat wing in Thailand during the Vietnam War.
• The 38th Bomb Group remained at Itazuke until October 1946 also during with time several reconstruction units worked on the former IJAAF base rebuilding and constructing new facilities.
• During the Korean War, Itazuke was a major combat airfield for the USAF.