Nonstop flight route between Marietta, Georgia, United States and Canton Island, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dobbins Air Reserve Base (MGE), Marietta, Georgia, United States and Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,164 miles (or 9,920 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 Dobbins Air Reserve Base and Canton Island 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 Dobbins Air Reserve Base and Canton Island Airport. 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 Dobbins Air Reserve Base (MGE):

• In May, the local government issued bonds to purchase 563 acres located 3½ miles southeast of Marietta along the western side of the new four-lane superhighway, U.S.
• The furthest airport from Dobbins Air Reserve Base (MGE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,314 miles (18,208 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The Department of War, in turn, announced that it would not contest the wish of the Department of the Navy to take over Rickenbacker Field, and that it would build its new factory elsewhere.
• Following the war, the Bell Aircraft Plant #6 remained closed for five years.
• In addition to being known as "Dobbins Air Reserve Base", another name for MGE is "Dobbins ARB".
• In 1948, part of the land and barracks at the original Naval Air Station Atlanta in nearby Chamblee were given to the state for the purpose of creating an engineering technology school that could rapidly train returning soldiers for civilian work in various technical fields.
• Dobbins ARB is also an automated weather station, reporting five minutes before every hour.
• In 1940, the CAA offered to build a modern paved airport in Cobb County if the local governments provided the land.
• The mission of the Marietta Army Airfield was acceptance testing of B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers for the USAAF, the modification of B-29s, and the operation of an Army Air Depot.
• The closest airport to Dobbins Air Reserve Base (MGE) is Fulton County Airport (FTY), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) S of MGE.

Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):

• The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
• Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Though Kanton Island was never physically invaded by Japanese forces, the airfield was bombarded on 1 November 1943 by the Japanese submarine I-36.
• The Pan American pioneered central air route, Hawaii to the Philippines and Asia by way of stations at Midway, Wake and Guam passed through the Japanese controlled islands with serious concerns about its safety growing in 1941 even as the Army had reinforced the Philippines with a flight of B-17 bombers by way of Midway, Wake and Port Moresby in September.
• The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
• The airport was used as a military airfield during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and 1943, initially being used by the 40th Ferrying Squadron, Ferrying Command as an airfield for moving combat aircraft to forward combat units.
• Kanton Island airport continued to see use during the 1950s as a trans-Pacific stopover for DC-4, DC-6B and DC-7C aircraft for Pan American, British Commonwealth Pacific, Qantas and Canadian Pacific Airlines, but with the advent of long-range jet aircraft during the 1960s, their need for the island faded, and the airfield and its associated facilities were ultimately abandoned in 1965.
• Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton Island 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.