Nonstop flight route between Ipatinga / Santana do Paraiso, Minas Gerais, Brazil and Spokane, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Usiminas Airport (IPN), Ipatinga / Santana do Paraiso, Minas Gerais, Brazil and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,549 miles (or 10,540 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 Usiminas Airport and Fairchild Air Force Base, 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 Usiminas Airport and Fairchild Air Force Base. 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 Usiminas Airport (IPN):

• Because of Usiminas Airport's relatively low elevation of 784 feet, planes can take off or land at Usiminas 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.
• The furthest airport from Usiminas Airport (IPN) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is located 11,996 miles (19,306 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• The closest airport to Usiminas Airport (IPN) is Coronel Altino Machado de Oliveira Airport (GVR), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) NE of IPN.
• In addition to being known as "Usiminas Airport", another name for IPN is "Aeroporto da Usiminas".
• Usiminas Airport (IPN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• Following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, a total of 560 base personnel deployed to Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to March 1991.
• The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force.
• Fairchild’s location, 12 miles west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington.
• Over 5,100 active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, and tenant organization military and civilian employees work on Fairchild, making the base the largest employer in Eastern Washington.
• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The weapons storage area for the bombers was located south of the runway at Deep Creek Air Force Station, a separate installation constructed from 1950 to 1953 by the Atomic Energy Commission and operated by the Air Materiel Command.
• Since 1942, Fairchild Air Force Base/Station has been a key part of the United States' defense strategy—from World War II repair depot, to Strategic Air Command bomber wing during the Cold War, to Air Mobility Command air refueling wing during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
• On 20 June 1994, Dean Mellberg, an ex-Air Force member, entered the base hospital and shot and killed four people and wounded 23 others.