Nonstop flight route between Greymouth, New Zealand and Spokane, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Greymouth Airport (GMN), Greymouth, New Zealand and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,583 miles (or 12,204 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 Greymouth Airport and Fairchild 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 Greymouth Airport and Fairchild 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 Greymouth Airport (GMN):

• The furthest airport from Greymouth Airport (GMN) is Vigo Airport (VGO), which is nearly antipodal to Greymouth Airport (meaning Greymouth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Vigo Airport), and is located 12,418 miles (19,985 kilometers) away in Vigo, Galicia, Spain.
• Greymouth Airport (GMN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Greymouth Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Greymouth 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 closest airport to Greymouth Airport (GMN) is Hokitika Airport (HKK), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) SSW of GMN.

Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• The weapons storage area for the bombers was located south of the runway at Deep Creek Air Force Station, a separate installation constructed from 1950 to 1953 by the Atomic Energy Commission and operated by the Air Materiel Command.
• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Fairchild AFB was established in 1942 as the Spokane Air Depot.
• As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base.
• In June 1992, with the inactivation of Strategic Air Command, the B-52 portion of the wing became part of the newly established Air Combat Command and was re-designated the 92d Bomb Wing.
• On 20 June 1994, Dean Mellberg, an ex-Air Force member, entered the base hospital and shot and killed four people and wounded 23 others.
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.