Nonstop flight route between Mfuwe, Eastern Province, Zambia and Detroit, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mfuwe Airport (MFU), Mfuwe, Eastern Province, Zambia and Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP), Detroit, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,129 miles (or 13,082 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 Mfuwe Airport and Willow Run Airport (YIP), 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 Mfuwe Airport and Willow Run Airport (YIP). 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 Mfuwe Airport (MFU):

• The furthest airport from Mfuwe Airport (MFU) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,794 miles (18,981 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Mfuwe Airport (MFU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mfuwe Airport (MFU) is Chipata Airport (CIP), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) ESE of MFU.

Facts about Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP):

• At about the same time it sold the airfield, the RFC leased the bomber plant to the Kaiser-Frazer automobile company.
• The furthest airport from Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,276 miles (18,147 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) is Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) E of YIP.
• Although the airfield itself and the buildings to the east of the runways had been built on Henry Ford's personal property, it is unclear how the parcels across the county line that became the site of the bomber plant were assembled.
• The Willow Run bomber plant had many problems at startup, due in part to the mindsets and technical skills of both management and labor, who were each accustomed to the requirements of auto production, finding it difficult at first to adapt to the higher precision required in aircraft production.
• By fall 1944 Willow Run had moved from the B-24L to the B-24M, the last Liberator to be built in significant numbers.
• Because of Willow Run Airport (YIP)'s relatively low elevation of 716 feet, planes can take off or land at Willow Run Airport (YIP) 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.
• Willow Run Airport was named for a small stream that meandered through pastureland and woods until the late-1930s.
• Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) has 4 runways.
• Once production began, it became difficult to introduce changes dictated by field experience in the various overseas theaters onto the production line in a timely fashion.
• Willow Run Airport is in Van Buren Charter Township and in Ypsilanti Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, that serves freight, corporate, and general aviation.
• Today the Yankee Air Museum, in one of the airport hangars, has a large collection of vintage aircraft.