Nonstop flight route between Masuda, Shimane, Japan, Japan and Sembach, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Iwami Airport (IWJ), Masuda, Shimane, Japan, Japan and Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), Sembach, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,683 miles (or 9,145 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 Iwami Airport and Sembach KaserneSembach Air 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 Iwami Airport and Sembach KaserneSembach Air 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 Iwami Airport (IWJ):

• The furthest airport from Iwami Airport (IWJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Iwami Airport (meaning Iwami Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,147 miles (19,548 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Iwami Airport (IWJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Iwami Airport", other names for IWJ include "石見空港" and "Iwami Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Iwami Airport (IWJ) is Yamaguchi Ube Airport (UBJ), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SSW of IWJ.
• Because of Iwami Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Iwami 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.

Facts about Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX):

• Sembach Kaserne is a United States Army installation in Sembach, Germany, near Kaiserslautern, and is about 19 miles east of Ramstein Air Base.
• The furthest airport from Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In the middle of April 1952, the residents of Sembach learned that the land to the north of the now completed flightline was to be used for the construction of multi-story barracks and office buildings.
• The closest airport to Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Ramstein Air Base (RMS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of SEX.
• In 1950, as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, the United States was rapidly expanding its air forces, announcing an increase in the number of combat wings from 48 in 1950 to 95 by June 1952.
• As 1957 progressed USAFE HQ decided to reorganizs its tactical reconnaissance assets.
• With this announcement, and everyone being satisfied, Sembach became a center of activity once more, and construction of the administrative area of the base began in October 1952.
• Another reason for the move to France was the unsuitability of Sembach's runway, which was barely adequate for the RF-84, but absolutely unsuitable for the higher performance RF-101 aircraft