Nonstop flight route between High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom and Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF High Wycombe (HYC), High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom and Kumamoto Airport (KMJ), Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,905 miles (or 9,503 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 RAF High Wycombe and Kumamoto 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 RAF High Wycombe and Kumamoto 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 RAF High Wycombe (HYC):

• The actor David Jason officially opened the station's new welfare centre, named after Wing Commander Alan Oakeshott, in July 2011.
• Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, the Air Ministry sought a safe location for RAF Bomber Command away from London.
• Buildings were designed to resemble other uses, such as the Officers' Mess which was built to look like a manor house.
• Since 2009, the station has been responsible for reviewing UFO sightings as part of efforts to identify any possible unauthorised military incursions into UK airspace.
• The closest airport to RAF High Wycombe (HYC) is RAF Benson (BEX), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) WSW of HYC.
• The furthest airport from RAF High Wycombe (HYC) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,867 miles (19,098 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In 1958, Headquarters, 7th Air Division of the Strategic Air Command, supporting SAC operations in UK relocated to High Wycombe from RAF South Ruislip, and commanded all SAC operations until 1965.

Facts about Kumamoto Airport (KMJ):

• Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kumamoto Airport's relatively low elevation of 632 feet, planes can take off or land at Kumamoto 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 Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) NW of KMJ.
• The furthest airport from Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Kumamoto Airport (meaning Kumamoto Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,253 miles (19,720 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Kumamoto Airport", other names for KMJ include "熊本空港" and "Kumamoto Kūkō".
• Kumamoto was one of three nationally-owned airports to turn a profit in fiscal year 2011.
• China Airlines charter service to Kaohsiung was announced in 2014 in order to cater to packaged tours from Taiwan.