Nonstop flight route between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Goroka, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Goroka Airport (GKA), Goroka, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,382 miles (or 13,490 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 Goroka 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 Goroka 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 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.
• 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.
• During World War II, the Soo Locks were considered vital to the war efforts.
• 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.
• 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.
• In November, 1961, following two years of construction, the 4239th Strategic Wing of the Strategic Air Command arrived with B-52 bombers.
• 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.
• Next, Kincheloe AFB was assigned to the Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector at K.
• 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 Goroka Airport (GKA):

• The closest airport to Goroka Airport (GKA) is Chimbu Airport (CMU), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) W of GKA.
• The furthest airport from Goroka Airport (GKA) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,734 miles (18,884 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Goroka Airport (GKA) has 2 runways.
• Because of Goroka Airport's high elevation of 5,282 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GKA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GKA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.