Nonstop flight route between Iliamna, Alaska, United States and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Iliamna Airport (ILI), Iliamna, Alaska, United States and Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,917 miles (or 4,694 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 Iliamna Airport and Kincheloe Air Force Base, 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 Iliamna Airport and Kincheloe Air Force Base. 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 Iliamna Airport (ILI):

• The furthest airport from Iliamna Airport (ILI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,656 miles (17,149 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Iliamna Airport (ILI) has 4 runways.
• Because of Iliamna Airport's relatively low elevation of 192 feet, planes can take off or land at Iliamna 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 Iliamna Airport (ILI) is Nondalton Airport (NNL), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) N of ILI.

Facts about Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR):

• The closest airport to Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of INR.
• The importance of Kincheloe AFB to ADC was evident in 1960 with some major changes.
• The furthest airport from Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 16 February 1953, the first operational ADC unit, the 534th Air Defense Group was activated at Kinross AFB.
• Kinross was considered a vital Air Defense Command base, an alert-status military base equipped with interceptors ready 24/7 to respond to unknown aircraft picked up by Ground Control Radar stations in the Great Lakes region.
• On 2 February 1959, Strategic Air Command established the 4239th Strategic Wing at Kincheloe AFB, Michigan as part of SAC's plan to disburse its B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• The B-52s and KC-135s of the 449th were reassigned to other SAC units, and the wing was inactivated on 30 September 1977 concurrently with the closure of Kincheloe Air Force Base.