Nonstop flight route between Maxton, North Carolina, United States and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE), Maxton, North Carolina, United States and Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 835 miles (or 1,345 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 relatively short distance between Laurinburg-Maxton Airport and Kincheloe Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE):

• Today the airfield is noted for being the home of Charlotte Aircraft, a company which parts-out and scraps older aircraft.
• Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Laurinburg-Maxton Airport", another name for MXE is "MEB".
• In 2006 the forward fuselage of Northwest Airline’s first 747-100 was removed from the aircraft at Maxton by Guard-Lee for installation in the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington DC.
• The furthest airport from Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,610 miles (18,685 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE) is Mackall Army Airfield (HFF), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) NNW of MXE.
• Because of Laurinburg-Maxton Airport's relatively low elevation of 220 feet, planes can take off or land at Laurinburg-Maxton 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.

Facts about Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR):

• During World War II, the Soo Locks were considered vital to the war efforts.
• The closest airport to Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of INR.
• The furthest airport from Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In September 1959, Kinross AFB was officially renamed Kincheloe Air Force Base in honor of the late Captain Iven Kincheloe, a native of Cassopolis in southwestern Michigan.
• With the outbreak of the Cold War in 1948 and active combat in the Korean War in June, 1950, the United States began building up its defenses.
• On 16 February 1953, the first operational ADC unit, the 534th Air Defense Group was activated at Kinross AFB.
• On 2 February 1959, Strategic Air Command established the 4239th Strategic Wing at Kincheloe AFB, Michigan as part of SAC's plan to disburse its B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• The B-52s and KC-135s of the 449th were reassigned to other SAC units, and the wing was inactivated on 30 September 1977 concurrently with the closure of Kincheloe Air Force Base.