Nonstop flight route between Misawa, Aomori, Japan and Hickory, North Carolina, 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 Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), Hickory, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,499 miles (or 10,459 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 Hickory Regional 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 Hickory Regional 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):

• 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 31st Air Division was inactivated on January 15, 1968, and was replaced at Misawa by the 475th Air Base Wing.
• 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 first operational fighter wing was the 49th Fighter-Bomber Group, being reassigned to Misawa on March 31, 1948.
• In addition to being known as "Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō", another name for MSJ is "Misawa AB".
• After the immediate postwar reconstruction of facilities, the first permanent USAAF tenant was the 613th Air Control and Warning Squadron, taking up residence on July 15, 1946 and providing air traffic control in the Misawa area for the next decade.
• Misawa Air Base was near the take-off site of the world's first non-stop trans-Pacific flight in 1931.
• The 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing was relieved from its duties in South Korea on November 7, 1953 and resumed its host duties at the base.
• The Misawa Passive Radio Frequency space surveillance site was used for tracking satellites using the signals they transmit.
• At Misawa, the 49th was replaced by the 6163d Air Base Wing to perform host and occupation duties.

Facts about Hickory Regional Airport (HKY):

• The closest airport to Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Foothills Regional Airport (MRN), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HKY.
• Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) has 2 runways.
• The Hickory Municipal Airport was first opened to aircraft traffic on May 17, 1940.
• The airport has an operating control tower from 7:00am to 9:00pm daily for safety and sequencing of aircraft landing and departing.
• Atlantis Airlines was one small airline of this type, offering up to 6 daily direct flights to Charlotte and Atlanta.
• In the early part of 1969, a new High Intensity Lighting system was installed on runway 6/24 as well as lighting on the parallel taxiway.
• In 1960, the base of operations for the airport was moved from the south side of the field when the new terminal building was constructed.
• The furthest airport from Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,494 miles (18,499 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Local officials hope to attract future commercial airline service, despite challenges caused by the relatively close proximity of the large Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.