Nonstop flight route between Golmud, Qinghai, China and Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Golmud Airport (GOQ), Golmud, Qinghai, China and Godman Army Airfield (FTK), Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,302 miles (or 11,752 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 Golmud Airport and Godman Army Airfield, 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 Golmud Airport and Godman Army Airfield. 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 Golmud Airport (GOQ):

• In addition to being known as "Golmud Airport", other names for GOQ include "格尔木机场" and "Gé'ěrmù Jīchǎng".
• Golmud Airport (GOQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Golmud Airport (GOQ) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,763 miles (18,930 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• The closest airport to Golmud Airport (GOQ) is Dunhuang Airport (DNH), which is located 260 miles (418 kilometers) N of GOQ.
• Because of Golmud Airport's high elevation of 9,333 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about Godman Army Airfield (FTK):

• The closest airport to Godman Army Airfield (FTK) is Addington Field (EKX), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) S of FTK.
• The furthest airport from Godman Army Airfield (FTK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,229 miles (18,071 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• After the 1953 armistice in Korea, Godman was phased down and the 4430th Air Base Wing became the host organization at the base.
• At the time a flight of four P-51 fighters was on a routine training flight under the supervision of Flight Commander Captain Thomas Mantell.
• Because of Godman Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 756 feet, planes can take off or land at Godman Army Airfield 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 official Air Technical Information Command report on the crash stated that they were of the opinion that Captain Mantell lost consciousness due to oxygen starvation.
• In 1944, the mission changed to replacement training, and the 477th Bombardment Group became the B-25 Replacement Training unit.
• The Thomas Mantell incident began at 1:20pm on 7 January 1948, when the control tower operators at Godman Army Airfield, Kentucky sighted an unidentified airborne object in the sky close to the base.
• Godman Army Airfield (FTK) has 4 runways.