Nonstop flight route between Redstone Arsenal (near Huntsville), Alabama, United States and Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Redstone Army Airfield (AAF) (HUA), Redstone Arsenal (near Huntsville), Alabama, United States and Naha Airport (OKA), Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,669 miles (or 12,341 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 Redstone Army Airfield (AAF) and Naha 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 Redstone Army Airfield (AAF) and Naha 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 Redstone Army Airfield (AAF) (HUA):

• On April 12, 1956, the city of Huntsville approached the commander of the airfield to talk about a new federal airway.
• Redstone Army Airfield (AAF) (HUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Redstone Army Airfield (AAF)'s relatively low elevation of 685 feet, planes can take off or land at Redstone Army Airfield (AAF) 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 Redstone Army Airfield (AAF) (HUA) is Huntsville International Airport (HSV), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) WSW of HUA.
• The furthest airport from Redstone Army Airfield (AAF) (HUA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,195 miles (18,016 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1943, the airstrip on Huntsville Arsenal was established, to assist with the testing of incendiary bomb clusters.

Facts about Naha Airport (OKA):

• In addition to being known as "Naha Airport", other names for OKA include "那覇空港" and "Naha Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Naha Airport (OKA) is Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) NE of OKA.
• Oroku Aerodrome, an Imperial Japanese Navy airfield, opened in 1933.
• Naha Airport (OKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Naha Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Naha 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 furthest airport from Naha Airport (OKA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Naha Airport (meaning Naha Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• The basic and detailed design engineering works in addition to the later construction management phase of the main passenger terminal were awarded in the 1990s in part to the Japan Branch of the American design-build engineering company, The Austin Company, which joined Japanese firms in a joint venture design consortium.