Nonstop flight route between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Changzhi, Shanxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Changzhi Wangcun Airport (CIH), Changzhi, Shanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,633 miles (or 10,674 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 Changzhi Wangcun 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 Changzhi Wangcun 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):

• On 16 February 1953, the first operational ADC unit, the 534th Air Defense Group was activated at Kinross AFB.
• 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.
• 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.
• In the 1950s, the Air Force adopted a policy of dispersing Strategic Air Command bombers and tankers.
• In 1962, in order to retain the lineage of its MAJCOM 4-digit combat units and to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its MAJCOM strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate AFCON units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.
• In November, 1961, following two years of construction, the 4239th Strategic Wing of the Strategic Air Command arrived with B-52 bombers.

Facts about Changzhi Wangcun Airport (CIH):

• Changzhi Wangcun Airport (CIH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Changzhi Wangcun Airport (CIH) is Handan Airport (HDG), which is located 75 miles (121 kilometers) ENE of CIH.
• In addition to being known as "Changzhi Wangcun Airport", other names for CIH include "长治王村机场" and "Changzhi Wangcun Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Changzhi Wangcun Airport (CIH) is Colonia Catriel Airport (CCT), which is nearly antipodal to Changzhi Wangcun Airport (meaning Changzhi Wangcun Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Colonia Catriel Airport), and is located 12,310 miles (19,811 kilometers) away in Colonia Catriel, Río Negro, Argentina.