Nonstop flight route between Misawa, Aomori, Japan and Milford Sound, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ), Misawa, Aomori, Japan and Milford Sound Airport (MFN), Milford Sound, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,125 miles (or 9,856 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 Milford Sound 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 Milford Sound 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):

• In 1870, the Japanese Emperor established a stud farm for the household cavalry in the area that later became Misawa AB, and kept his own cavalry there until 1931, when the Sino-Japanese conflict required their use in China.
• In addition to being known as "Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō", another name for MSJ is "Misawa AB".
• The United States Air Force's 35th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Misawa Air Base.
• 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.
• Before the outbreak of World War II, Lake Ogawara at Misawa was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service to practice for the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• Between May and August 1953, the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing pulled a rotational TDY at Misawa relieving the 27th and being relieved in turn by the 31st Strategic Fighter Wing.
• The first Japanese Air Self-Defense Force units were activated at Misawa in October 1954, and the first Japanese Northern Air Defense Force units began operations in 1957.

Facts about Milford Sound Airport (MFN):

• Post war pilot Fred ‘Popeye’ Lucas was the next to land an aircraft in Milford.
• Prior to the ability of air operations, Milford Sound had no access in the winter months as the roads became impassable.
• The furthest airport from Milford Sound Airport (MFN) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Milford Sound Airport (meaning Milford Sound Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,230 miles (19,682 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Because of Milford Sound Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Milford Sound 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.
• Milford Sound Airport (MFN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Milford Sound Airport (MFN) is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) ESE of MFN.