Nonstop flight route between Misawa, Aomori, Japan and Aspen, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ), Misawa, Aomori, Japan and Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE), Aspen, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,443 miles (or 8,759 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 Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō and Aspen–Pitkin County 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 Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō and Aspen–Pitkin County 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 Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ):

• Misawa Air Base is a United States military facility located 3 NM northeast of the railway station in Misawa, 3 mi west of the Pacific Ocean, 10 mi northeast of Towada, 18 mi northwest of Hachinohe, and 425 mi north of Tokyo, in Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region in the northern part of the island of Honshū of Japan.
• In addition to being known as "Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō", another name for MSJ is "Misawa AB".
• On March 1, 1952, the 39th Air Division was established at Misawa, and through January 15, 1968, the Air Division controlled all of the units responsible for the air defense of north Japan, which included northern Honshū and Hokkaidō islands and the contiguous territorial waters.
• The closest airport to Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ) is JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base (HHE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MSJ.
• The furthest airport from Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,479 miles (18,473 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The 6112th ABG took over the base host duties at Misawa in 1971, with the inactivation of the 475th ABW.
• Misawa Air Base was near the take-off site of the world's first non-stop trans-Pacific flight in 1931.

Facts about Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE):

• In 2007, the runway was completely rehabilitated with new grooved asphalt.
• Several airport improvements are planned or underway at the Aspen–Pitkin County Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Aspen–Pitkin County Airport", another name for ASE is "Sardy Field".
• Before initiating jet service, Aspen operated Convair 580 turboprops as well as other prop and turboprop aircraft.
• On April 4, 2011, the airport began a $15.5 million runway extension project which added 1,000 feet of runway length to the existing 7,006' long runway.
• Because of Aspen–Pitkin County Airport's high elevation of 7,820 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ASE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ASE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Per Title X of the Pitkin County Code, the airport has several unique operating limitations.
• Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,971 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) N of ASE.
• More recently, Lynx Aviation flying on behalf of Frontier Airlines operated Bombardier Q400 turboprops into Aspen.