Nonstop flight route between Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Miyako Airport (MMY), Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,858 miles (or 12,646 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Miyako 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Miyako 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):

• It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Command, the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• A lack of transportation in Saint Mary's County led the Navy to acquire and revitalize a branchline called theWashington, Brandywine and Point Lookout Railroad from Brandywine to Mechanicsville, Maryland in June 1942 and build an extension south from Mechanicsville to the air station.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
• In addition to its role in testing naval aircraft, during the 1950s to 1970s Patuxent River served as an operational base for a Transport Squadron - VR-1, a TACAMO squadron - VQ-4, Airborne Training Unit Atlantic - AEWTULANT, and VW-11, VW-13 AN VW-15 and a number of Patrol Squadrons including VP-8, VP-44, VP-49, VP-24, VP-30 and VP-68.
• By 1965, reconnaissance Squadron VQ-4, based at NAS Patuxent River, began using Lockheed C-130s equipped with special communications equipment to perform their around-the-clock Take Charge and Move Out mission.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
• The base became a center for testing as several facilities were constructed throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is St. Mary's County Regional Airport (LTW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of NHK.
• Because of Naval Air Station Patuxent River's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River 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 Miyako Airport (MMY):

• The furthest airport from Miyako Airport (MMY) is Guaraní International Airport (AGT), which is nearly antipodal to Miyako Airport (meaning Miyako Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Guaraní International Airport), and is located 12,390 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.
• Miyako Airport (MMY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Miyako Airport (MMY) is Shimojishima Airport (SHI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of MMY.
• Because of Miyako Airport's relatively low elevation of 140 feet, planes can take off or land at Miyako 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.
• In addition to being known as "Miyako Airport", other names for MMY include "宮古空港" and "Miyako Kūkō".