Nonstop flight route between Point Lay, Alaska, United States and Detroit, Michigan, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PIZ to YIP:
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- About this route
- PIZ Airport Information
- YIP Airport Information
- Facts about PIZ
- Facts about YIP
- Map of Nearest Airports to PIZ
- List of Nearest Airports to PIZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIZ
- List of Furthest Airports from PIZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to YIP
- List of Nearest Airports to YIP
- Map of Furthest Airports from YIP
- List of Furthest Airports from YIP
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ), Point Lay, Alaska, United States and Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP), Detroit, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,272 miles (or 5,266 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 Point Lay LRRS Airport and Willow Run Airport (YIP), 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 Point Lay LRRS Airport and Willow Run Airport (YIP). You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PIZ / PPIZ |
Airport Name: | Point Lay LRRS Airport |
Location: | Point Lay, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 69°43'55"N by 163°0'39"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Government 11 TCW/LGO Elmendorf |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 25 feet (8 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PIZ |
More Information: | PIZ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | YIP / KYIP |
Airport Name: | Willow Run Airport (YIP) |
Location: | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 42°14'16"N by 83°31'49"W |
Operator/Owner: | Wayne County Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 716 feet (218 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from YIP |
More Information: | YIP Maps & Info |
Facts about Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ):
- Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Point Lay LRRS Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Point Lay LRRS 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.
- The radar station was upgraded in the late 1980s with new radars and in 1989 was re-designated part of the North Warning System as a Long Range Radar Site, A-15, controlled by the Pacific Air Forces 611th Air Support Group, based at Elmendorf AFB.
- The LRR site was inactivated in 1989 due to soil erosion & budget concerns.
- The closest airport to Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) is Wainwright Airport (AIN), which is located 94 miles (152 kilometers) NE of PIZ.
- The furthest airport from Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,387 miles (16,716 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
Facts about Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP):
- After their manufacture, the next step in the process was the delivery of the aircraft to the squadrons.
- 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.
- Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) has 4 runways.
- 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.
- Willow Run Airport was named for a small stream that meandered through pastureland and woods until the late-1930s.
- Willow Run Airport is in Van Buren Charter Township and in Ypsilanti Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, that serves freight, corporate, and general aviation.
- Willow Run transitioned to production of the B-24H in June 1943.
- In 1956 there were seven commercial passenger carriers operating out of Willow Run.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Willow Run bomber plant had many problems at startup, due in part to the mindsets and technical skills of both management and labor, who were each accustomed to the requirements of auto production, finding it difficult at first to adapt to the higher precision required in aircraft production.