Nonstop flight route between Napier, New Zealand and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE), Napier, New Zealand and Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,474 miles (or 13,638 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 Hawke's Bay Airport and Kincheloe Air Force Base, 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 Hawke's Bay Airport and Kincheloe Air Force Base. 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 Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE):

• A smaller airport is located near Hastings called Hastings Aerodrome, which is primarily used for flight training and recreational aviation.
• The second floor has a small glass-fenced open air deck, where arriving and departing aircraft can be viewed.
• Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) is Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM), which is nearly antipodal to Hawke's Bay Airport (meaning Hawke's Bay Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ciudad Real Central Airport), and is located 12,375 miles (19,916 kilometers) away in Ciudad Real, Spain.
• Hawke's Bay Airport handled 451,128 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) is Taupo AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Taupō (TUO), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) NW of NPE.
• Because of Hawke's Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Hawke's Bay 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):

• In October, 1952, the 4685th Air Base Squadron was assigned to the reactivated Kinross AFB.
• In the 1950s, the Air Force adopted a policy of dispersing Strategic Air Command bombers and tankers.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Kinross was considered a vital Air Defense Command base, an alert-status military base equipped with interceptors ready 24/7 to respond to unknown aircraft picked up by Ground Control Radar stations in the Great Lakes region.
• On 18 August 1955, the 534th ADS was inactivated and immediately replaced by the 507th Fighter Group in a name-only re-designation.
• In November, 1961, following two years of construction, the 4239th Strategic Wing of the Strategic Air Command arrived with B-52 bombers.