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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Chefornak Airport (CYF), Chefornak, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,218 miles (or 5,179 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 Chefornak 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 Chefornak 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):

• In the 1950s, the Air Force adopted a policy of dispersing Strategic Air Command bombers and tankers.
• On 18 August 1955, the 534th ADS was inactivated and immediately replaced by the 507th Fighter Group in a name-only re-designation.
• 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.
• After the war, the airfield then served as a hub for private and commercial aviation.
• 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.
• 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 importance of Kincheloe AFB to ADC was evident in 1960 with some major changes.
• 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.

Facts about Chefornak Airport (CYF):

• The closest airport to Chefornak Airport (CYF) is Kipnuk Airport (KPN), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSE of CYF.
• A new airstrip has been built further out from the village due to concerns with the current airstrip being near the school and pedestrian traffic, however, the runway must settle for several years before it is ready to be used.
• The furthest airport from Chefornak Airport (CYF) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,623 miles (17,096 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Chefornak Airport", another name for CYF is "CFK".
• Because of Chefornak Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Chefornak 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.
• Chefornak Airport (CYF) currently has only 1 runway.