Nonstop flight route between Kipnuk, Alaska, United States and Spokane, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kipnuk Airport (KPN), Kipnuk, Alaska, United States and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,023 miles (or 3,256 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 relatively short distance between Kipnuk Airport and Fairchild Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Kipnuk Airport (KPN):

• Because of Kipnuk Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Kipnuk 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.
• In addition to being known as "Kipnuk Airport", another name for KPN is "IIK".
• The closest airport to Kipnuk Airport (KPN) is Chefornak Airport (CYF), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNW of KPN.
• The furthest airport from Kipnuk Airport (KPN) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,639 miles (17,122 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Kipnuk Airport (KPN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• In 1956 the wing began a conversion that brought the B-52 Stratofortress to Fairchild, followed by the KC-135 Stratotanker in 1958.
• 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.
• In 1995 aircraft from Fairchild flew to Travis AFB, California in support of its first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty mission, transporting Russian inspectors to sites in the Western U.S.
• As military operations in Vietnam escalated in the mid-1960s, the demand for air refueling increased.
• 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.
• On 13 March 1987, a KC-135A crashed into a field adjacent to the 92nd Bomb Wing headquarters and the taxiway during a practice flight for an In-Flight Refueling Demonstration planned for later that month.
• The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".