Nonstop flight route between West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Shimojishima, Japan:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LAF to SHI:
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- About this route
- LAF Airport Information
- SHI Airport Information
- Facts about LAF
- Facts about SHI
- Map of Nearest Airports to LAF
- List of Nearest Airports to LAF
- Map of Furthest Airports from LAF
- List of Furthest Airports from LAF
- Map of Nearest Airports to SHI
- List of Nearest Airports to SHI
- Map of Furthest Airports from SHI
- List of Furthest Airports from SHI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Purdue University Airport (LAF), West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Shimojishima Airport (SHI), Shimojishima, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,480 miles (or 12,038 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 Purdue University Airport and Shimojishima Airport, 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 Purdue University Airport and Shimojishima Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LAF / KLAF |
Airport Name: | Purdue University Airport |
Location: | West Lafayette, Indiana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°24'43"N by 86°56'12"W |
Area Served: | Lafayette, Indiana |
Operator/Owner: | Purdue University |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 606 feet (185 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LAF |
More Information: | LAF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SHI / RORS |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shimojishima, Japan |
GPS Coordinates: | 24°49'36"N by 125°8'40"E |
Operator/Owner: | Okinawa Prefecture |
Airport Type: | Public / Dual-use |
Elevation: | 25 feet (8 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SHI |
More Information: | SHI Maps & Info |
Facts about Purdue University Airport (LAF):
- Runway 10 has a Category 1 ILS approach.
- Purdue University Airport (LAF) has 2 runways.
- Purdue University Airport also had its own airline, Purdue Airlines in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Purdue University Airport was the first university-owned airport in the United States.
- Because of Purdue University Airport's relatively low elevation of 606 feet, planes can take off or land at Purdue University 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 closest airport to Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Kentland Municipal Airport (KKT), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NW of LAF.
- FedEx donated a 727 to Purdue, which is taxied through the airport every once in a while.
- The furthest airport from Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,148 miles (17,941 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Shimojishima Airport (SHI):
- Shimojishima Airport (SHI) currently has only 1 runway.
- The prefecture operates the airport, which has been classified as a Third Class airport since May 1979.
- In 2010, there were renewed protests against proposals to turn Shimoji Airport into a permanent USMC post.
- In addition to being known as "Shimojishima Airport", other names for SHI include "下地島空港" and "Shimojishima Kūkō".
- The furthest airport from Shimojishima Airport (SHI) is Guaraní International Airport (AGT), which is nearly antipodal to Shimojishima Airport (meaning Shimojishima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Guaraní International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,945 kilometers) away in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.
- Because of Shimojishima Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Shimojishima 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 closest airport to Shimojishima Airport (SHI) is Miyako Airport (MMY), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ESE of SHI.