Nonstop flight route between Kita Kyūshū, Kyūshū, Japan and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kokura Airport (KKJ), Kita Kyūshū, Kyūshū, Japan and Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,479 miles (or 10,427 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 Kokura Airport and Kincheloe 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 Kokura Airport and Kincheloe 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 Kokura Airport (KKJ):

• In addition to being known as "Kokura Airport", other names for KKJ include "小倉空港" and "Kokura Kūkō".
• Kokura Airport (KKJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kokura Airport (KKJ) is Yamaguchi Ube Airport (UBJ), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ENE of KKJ.
• Because of Kokura Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kokura 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 Kokura Airport (KKJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Kokura Airport (meaning Kokura Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,220 miles (19,665 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.

Facts about Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR):

• The 507th Fighter Wing continued to employ F-106 aircraft at Kincheloe AFB until its inactivation on Sep.
• 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.
• On 18 August 1955, the 534th ADS was inactivated and immediately replaced by the 507th Fighter Group in a name-only re-designation.
• 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.
• 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.
• As a result of the phase down, ADC moved the 438th Fighter Interceptor Squadron to Griffiss AFB, New York.
• 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.
• 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.
• During World War II, the Soo Locks were considered vital to the war efforts.
• In November, 1961, following two years of construction, the 4239th Strategic Wing of the Strategic Air Command arrived with B-52 bombers.