Nonstop flight route between Jacksonville, Illinois, United States and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX), Jacksonville, Illinois, United States and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,059 miles (or 12,970 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 Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō, 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 Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō. 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 Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX):

• As part of the buildup of forces prior to the United States entry into World War II, the Army Air Corps leased Imeson Field from the City of Jacksonville on 6 February 1941.
• Originally named Jacksonville Municipal Airport Number One, in the 1950s the facility was renamed after Thomas Cole Imeson, city councilman and later longtime commissioner in charge of airports and highways.
• The largest airliner scheduled to Imeson was the McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61 flown by Delta Air Lines.
• The antisubmarine mission was turned over to the United States Navy in mid-1943, and Naval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville began to operate Consolidated PB4Y-1 long range bombers from Jacksonville AAF equipped with antisubmarine equipment.
• Imeson Field was built southeast of the intersection of North Main Street and Busch Drive, the site of a 175-acre prison farm north of downtown Jacksonville.
• Because of Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 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.
• In 1968, the 125 FIG relocated from Jacksonville Imeson Airport to a newly constructed military installation at the newly constructed Jacksonville International Airport.
• Jacksonville Municipal Airport Number One opened on October 11, 1927.
• Local pilot Laurie Yonge offered airplane rides from the beaches.
• The closest airport to Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX) is Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNW of IJX.
• The furthest airport from Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,460 miles (18,442 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• Twentieth Air Force was inactivated in March 1955.
• Twentieth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena on 16 May 1949.
• Upon its reassignment to the Pacific Theater, Eighth Air Force was assigned to the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (meaning Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of DNA.
• Beginning in 1961, the 18th was sending its tactical squadrons frequently to South Vietnam and Thailand, initially with its RF-101 reconnaissance forces, and beginning in 1964 with its tactical fighter forces supporting USAF combat missions in the Vietnam War.
• Kadena Air Base's history dates back to just before the 1 April 1945, Battle of Okinawa, when a local construction firm completed a small airfield named Yara Hikojo near the island's village of Kadena.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• The Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence in Okinawa.
• In November 2006, the U.S.