Nonstop flight route between Minot, North Dakota, United States and Yushu County, Qinghai, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States and Yushu Batang Airport (YUS), Yushu County, Qinghai, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,709 miles (or 10,797 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 Minot Air Force Base and Yushu Batang 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 Minot Air Force Base and Yushu Batang 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 Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• In 1961, the Air Force selected the land around Minot for a new Minuteman I ICBM complex.
• The scope of operations grew as the Air Force transferred the 525th Bombardment Squadron from the 19th Bombardment Wing at Homestead AFB, Florida, on 8 March 1961, followed by the first B-52H Stratofortress on 10 July 1961, nicknamed "Peace Persuader".
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• Additionally on 12 July 2008, three Air Force officers fell asleep while in control of an electronic component that contained old launch codes for nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, a violation of procedure, Air Force officials said.
• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 862d Combat Support Group was deactivated on 31 July 1972, with host unit duties being taken over by the 91st Combat Support Group.
• Originally opened in 1957 as an Air Defense Command base, Minot AFB became a major Strategic Air Command base in the early 1960s, with both nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles and manned bombers and aerial refueling aircraft.
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.
• Construction of Minot AFB began in May 1956 and it officially opened on 10 January 1957, named for the nearby city of Minot.

Facts about Yushu Batang Airport (YUS):

• The furthest airport from Yushu Batang Airport (YUS) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,813 miles (19,012 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• The closest airport to Yushu Batang Airport (YUS) is Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) S of YUS.
• The construction of the airport started in 2007.
• Because of Yushu Batang Airport's high elevation of 12,762 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at YUS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make YUS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Yushu Batang Airport", other names for YUS include "玉树巴塘机场" and "Yùshù Batáng Jīchǎng".