Nonstop flight route between Fukuoka, Japan and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fukuoka Airport (FUK), Fukuoka, Japan and Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,507 miles (or 10,471 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 Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka Airport (FUK):

• 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.
• Fukuoka Airport (FUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) SSW of FUK.
• 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.
• After the 1953 Armistice in Korea, the wartime combat units were slowly withdrawn back to the United States or reassigned to other airfields in Japan and South Korea.
• 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.
• As of July 2013, the Japanese government is considering building a second 2,800 m parallel runway within the existing airfield at a cost of 180 billion yen, two-thirds of which would be borne by the national government and the remaining third of which would be borne by the local government, but which would be defrayed by selling the rights to operate the airport to a private company.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Fukuoka Airport", other names for FUK include "福岡空港" and "Fukuoka KūkōItazuke Air Base".

Facts about Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR):

• 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.
• After the war, the airfield then served as a hub for private and commercial aviation.
• The 507th Fighter Wing continued to employ F-106 aircraft at Kincheloe AFB until its inactivation on Sep.
• Next, Kincheloe AFB was assigned to the Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector at K.
• In September 1959, Kinross AFB was officially renamed Kincheloe Air Force Base in honor of the late Captain Iven Kincheloe, a native of Cassopolis in southwestern Michigan.
• In November, 1961, following two years of construction, the 4239th Strategic Wing of the Strategic Air Command arrived with B-52 bombers.
• As a result of the phase down, ADC moved the 438th Fighter Interceptor Squadron to Griffiss AFB, New York.
• In the 1950s, the Air Force adopted a policy of dispersing Strategic Air Command bombers and tankers.
• On 1 Oct 1968, the 449th became the host unit assigned to Kincheloe AFB with the inactivations of the 507th Fighter Wing and the activations & Organizations of the 449th Combat Support Group, the 449th Civil Engineering Squadron, 449th Security Police Squadron, 449th Services Squadron, 449th Supply Squadron, and the 449th Transportation Squadron.
• 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.
• Flying out of Kinross in 1953, pilot Felix Moncla and his plane disappeared while pursuing a UFO over the Soo Locks and Lake Superior.