Nonstop flight route between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States and Rockhampton Airport (ROK), Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,026 miles (or 14,526 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 Rockhampton 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 Rockhampton 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.
• 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.
• In September 1959, Kinross AFB was officially renamed Kincheloe Air Force Base in honor of the late Captain Iven Kincheloe, a native of Cassopolis in southwestern Michigan.
• The 4239th Strategic Wing was inactivated as the 449th Bombardment Wing was activated on 15 Nov 1962 and organized on 1 February 1963, assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 40th Air Division.
• 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.
• Flying out of Kinross in 1953, pilot Felix Moncla and his plane disappeared while pursuing a UFO over the Soo Locks and Lake Superior.
• 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 Rockhampton Airport (ROK):

• The Rockhampton Airport was named the 2007 Australian Major Airport of the Year at the prestigious National Awards in recognition of Excellence in Australian Aviation, in Melbourne on 13 November 2007.
• Efforts to locate a permanent aerodrome site in the city had been proceeding for a number of years in the 1920s.
• Rockhampton Airport (ROK) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Rockhampton Airport (ROK) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,922 miles (19,187 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• The closest airport to Rockhampton Airport (ROK) is Gladstone Airport (GLT), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) SE of ROK.
• Because of Rockhampton Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Rockhampton 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.
• Rockhampton Airport handled 701,062 passengers last year.
• In 1929, the lease to a former racecourse, Connor Park, was acquired by a number of aspiring aviators, and they set about making it suitable for aircraft.