Nonstop flight route between Pico Island, Azores, Portugal and Misawa, Aomori, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pico Airport (PIX), Pico Island, Azores, Portugal and Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ), Misawa, Aomori, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,923 miles (or 11,141 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 Pico Airport and Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō, 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 Pico Airport and Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō. 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 Pico Airport (PIX):

• The first studies were completed to construct a runway for the remote island of Pico during the post-War era when, instead, a final decision in 1946 saw the construction of an aerodrome on the island of Faial.
• In addition to being known as "Pico Airport", another name for PIX is "Aeroporto do Pico".
• The furthest airport from Pico Airport (PIX) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Pico Airport (meaning Pico Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,291 miles (19,781 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• The closest airport to Pico Airport (PIX) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) W of PIX.
• Because of Pico Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Pico 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 1990, with the arrival of new ATP aircraft for SATA Air Açores' fleet, the decision was taken to extend the runway, to improve operations with this type of aircraft.
• Pico Airport (PIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• On April 2005, Pico received its first intercontinental flight, a direct flight from Lisbon.
• Pico Airport is an airport located 8 km from Madalena on the Portuguese island of Pico in the archipelago of the Azores.

Facts about Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ):

• The United States Air Force's 35th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Misawa Air Base.
• Misawa Air Base was near the take-off site of the world's first non-stop trans-Pacific flight in 1931.
• The first operational fighter wing was the 49th Fighter-Bomber Group, being reassigned to Misawa on March 31, 1948.
• In addition to being known as "Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō", another name for MSJ is "Misawa AB".
• 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.
• 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 Misawa Passive Radio Frequency space surveillance site was used for tracking satellites using the signals they transmit.
• Misawa Air Base is a United States military facility located 3 NM northeast of the railway station in Misawa, 3 mi west of the Pacific Ocean, 10 mi northeast of Towada, 18 mi northwest of Hachinohe, and 425 mi north of Tokyo, in Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region in the northern part of the island of Honshū of Japan.
• The 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing was relieved from its duties in South Korea on November 7, 1953 and resumed its host duties at the base.
• 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.