Nonstop flight route between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Bintulu, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Bintulu Airport (BTU), Bintulu, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,862 miles (or 14,261 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 Bintulu 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 Bintulu 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):

• 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.
• During World War II, the Soo Locks were considered vital to the war efforts.
• With the outbreak of the Cold War in 1948 and active combat in the Korean War in June, 1950, the United States began building up its defenses.
• In May 1958 the 438th FIS was temporarily transferred to K.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Bintulu Airport (BTU):

• The closest airport to Bintulu Airport (BTU) is Belaga Airport (BLG), which is located 61 miles (99 kilometers) ESE of BTU.
• Bintulu old airport was open for operation on 1 September 1955, with a grass-surface runway catering for de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide and Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer aircraft operated by Borneo Airways.
• The furthest airport from Bintulu Airport (BTU) is Carauari Airport (CAF), which is nearly antipodal to Bintulu Airport (meaning Bintulu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carauari Airport), and is located 12,315 miles (19,820 kilometers) away in Carauari, Amazonas, Brazil.
• Bintulu Airport (BTU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bintulu Airport handled 779,774 passengers last year.
• On 1 July 1968, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines introduced scheduled Fokker 27 services into Bintulu.
• In September 2005, first low-cost airline in Malaysia, AirAsia started operating in Bintulu airport.
• In addition to being known as "Bintulu Airport", other names for BTU include "Lapangan Terbang Bintulu" and "民都鲁机场".
• Because of Bintulu Airport's relatively low elevation of 74 feet, planes can take off or land at Bintulu 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.