Nonstop flight route between Misawa, Aomori, Japan and Port Lions, Alaska, 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 Port Lions Airport (ORI), Port Lions, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,049 miles (or 4,908 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 Port Lions 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 Port Lions 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 Misawa Passive Radio Frequency space surveillance site was used for tracking satellites using the signals they transmit.
• With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the 49th Fighter-Bomber Group was split off from the wing and was one of the first USAF units dispatched to Korea from Japan, its tactical squadrons began operations with F-51D Mustangs as the F-51D performed the ground support role better than the Shooting Stars.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō", another name for MSJ is "Misawa AB".
• 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 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.
• What is now called Misawa Air Base has been used by the military since the Meiji period, when it was used as a cavalry training center for the Imperial Army.
• 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.
• Misawa Air Base was near the take-off site of the world's first non-stop trans-Pacific flight in 1931.

Facts about Port Lions Airport (ORI):

• Port Lions Airport (ORI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Port Lions Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Lions 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 2,386 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 2,666 enplanements in 2009, and 2,257 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Port Lions Airport (ORI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,784 miles (17,355 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Port Lions Airport (ORI) is Port Bailey Seaplane Base (KPY), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) WNW of ORI.
• Port Lions Airport is a state owned, public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Port Lions, a city located on Kodiak Island in the Kodiak Island Borough of the U.S.