Nonstop flight route between Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kerama Airport (KJP), Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,614 miles (or 10,644 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 Kerama Airport and Grand Forks 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 Kerama Airport and Grand Forks 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 Kerama Airport (KJP):

• The closest airport to Kerama Airport (KJP) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) E of KJP.
• Kerama Airport (KJP) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kerama Airport", other names for KJP include "慶良間空港" and "Kerama Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Kerama Airport (KJP) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kerama Airport (meaning Kerama Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,977 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• Because of Kerama Airport's relatively low elevation of 156 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerama 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.