Nonstop flight route between Wichita, Kansas, United States and Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB), Wichita, Kansas, United States and Kobe Airport (UKB), Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,416 miles (or 10,325 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 McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield and Kobe 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 McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield and Kobe 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 McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB):

• The Air Force was not the sole occupant during this period.
• The furthest airport from McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,740 miles (17,285 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In August 1941, the Kansas National Guard 127th Observation Squadron was activated as the first military unit assigned to the Wichita airport.
• The mission of the 23 TFW at McConnell was to provide training for F-105 pilots prior to their deployment to Southeast Asia.
• In addition to being known as "McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield", another name for IAB is "McConnell AFB".
• Air Materiel Command's mission at the airport was to accept, service and coordinate the transfer of newly produced Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers to other installations.
• The closest airport to McConnell Air Force Base Wichita Army Airfield (IAB) is Cessna Aircraft Field (CEA), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) NNE of IAB.

Facts about Kobe Airport (UKB):

• Because of Kobe Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kobe 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.
• As part of its bankruptcy restructuring, JAL terminated all services out of Kobe and closed its office on June 1, 2010, in response to which Skymark Airlines announced a major expansion at the airport.
• Kobe Airport (UKB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kobe Airport is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, 8 km south of Sannomiya StationJapan.
• Kobe is already the most indebted municipality in Japan with debts of over ¥3 trillion, and this project's cost has made it very controversial.
• In addition to being known as "Kobe Airport", other names for UKB include "神戸空港" and "Kōbe Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Kobe Airport (UKB) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,976 miles (19,273 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In 2013, Kobe mayor Tatsuo Yada endorsed a proposal to consolidate the management of the three Kansai region airports by adding Kobe Airport to the planned sale in 2014 of operating concessions at Itami and Kansai, although the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported this to be unlikely given the advanced state of negotiations surrounding the concessions.
• The closest airport to Kobe Airport (UKB) is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of UKB.
• Kobe businesses were still interested in the plan, however, and pressed the city government to propose a smaller facility with one 3,000 m runway.