Nonstop flight route between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Atoifi, Malaita, Solomon Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Uru Harbour Airport (ATD), Atoifi, Malaita, Solomon Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,826 miles (or 12,594 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 Kincheloe Air Force Base and Uru Harbour 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 Kincheloe Air Force Base and Uru Harbour 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 Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR):

• Flying out of Kinross in 1953, pilot Felix Moncla and his plane disappeared while pursuing a UFO over the Soo Locks and Lake Superior.
• 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 importance of Kincheloe AFB to ADC was evident in 1960 with some major changes.
• 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.
• On 18 August 1955, the 534th ADS was inactivated and immediately replaced by the 507th Fighter Group in a name-only re-designation.
• 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.
• In November, 1961, following two years of construction, the 4239th Strategic Wing of the Strategic Air Command arrived with B-52 bombers.
• On 1 Oct 1968, the 449th became the host unit assigned to Kincheloe AFB with the inactivations of the 507th Fighter Wing and the activations & Organizations of the 449th Combat Support Group, the 449th Civil Engineering Squadron, 449th Security Police Squadron, 449th Services Squadron, 449th Supply Squadron, and the 449th Transportation Squadron.
• The 438th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was upgraded again to the F-106 Delta Dart interceptor in June 1960, one of the first ADC squadrons to receive the new interceptor.

Facts about Uru Harbour Airport (ATD):

• The furthest airport from Uru Harbour Airport (ATD) is Bubaque Airport (BQE), which is nearly antipodal to Uru Harbour Airport (meaning Uru Harbour Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bubaque Airport), and is located 12,165 miles (19,577 kilometers) away in Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau.
• The closest airport to Uru Harbour Airport (ATD) is Afutara Airport (AFT), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) S of ATD.
• Uru Harbour Airport (ATD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Uru Harbour Airport's relatively low elevation of 24 feet, planes can take off or land at Uru Harbour 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.