Nonstop flight route between Norfolk, Virginia, United States and Detroit, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), Norfolk, Virginia, United States and Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP), Detroit, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 530 miles (or 853 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 Naval Station Norfolk and Willow Run Airport (YIP), the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Naval Station Norfolk (NGU):

• Locally, Fleet Air Wing 5 units flew under its operational command of the 5th Naval District.
• Norfolk responded by renaming the road, Admiral Taussig Boulevard, in honor of the retiring commander of the Naval Operating Base.
• Construction of the training camp began on Independence Day 1917, and within the first 30 days housing for 7,500 men had been completed.
• The furthest airport from Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,762 miles (18,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Station Norfolk", another name for NGU is "Chambers Field".
• Some 353 acres were eventually reclaimed at a cost of $2.1 million.
• The closest airport to Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ESE of NGU.
• Lighter-than-air operations, important for off-shore patrols during the war, ceased in 1924.

Facts about Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP):

• Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) has 4 runways.
• While the planes were being serviced and made ready for overseas movement, personnel for these planes were also being processed.
• The furthest airport from Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,276 miles (18,147 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• At the request of the government, Ford began to decentralize operations and many parts were assembled at other Ford plants as well as by the company's sub-contractors, with the Willow Run plant concentrating on final aircraft assembly.
• The closest airport to Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) is Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) E of YIP.
• Willow Run's relative isolation encouraged new approaches to passenger transportation to and from airports.
• Because of Willow Run Airport (YIP)'s relatively low elevation of 716 feet, planes can take off or land at Willow Run Airport (YIP) 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.
• Between 1946 and 1947, passenger airlines serving Detroit moved from Detroit City Airport on the city's crowded east side, to Willow Run.
• Although the airfield itself and the buildings to the east of the runways had been built on Henry Ford's personal property, it is unclear how the parcels across the county line that became the site of the bomber plant were assembled.