Nonstop flight route between Riverside, California, United States and Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States and Kumamoto Airport (KMJ), Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,051 miles (or 9,738 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 March Air Reserve Base and Kumamoto 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 March Air Reserve Base and Kumamoto 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 March Air Reserve Base (RIV):

• By late April 1918, enough progress had been made in the construction of the new field to allow the arrival of the first troops.
• The Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 quickly brought March Field back into the business of training aircrews.
• March is one of the oldest airfields operated by the United States military, being established as Alessandro Flying Training Field in February 1918.
• The Army quickly set about establishing the new air field.
• However, by 1921, the decision had been made to phase down all activities at the base in accordance with sharply reduced military budgets.
• The furthest airport from March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,461 miles (18,445 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• On 15 August 1947, the 1st Fighter Wing was activated as part of AAF Regulation 20-15, "Reorganization of AAF Base Units and Installations," on 27 June 1947.
• The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.

Facts about Kumamoto Airport (KMJ):

• Kumamoto Airport, also known as Aso Kumamoto Airport, is an airport in Mashiki, Kumamoto, Japan.
• Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) NW of KMJ.
• In addition to being known as "Kumamoto Airport", other names for KMJ include "熊本空港" and "Kumamoto Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Kumamoto Airport (meaning Kumamoto Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,253 miles (19,720 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• China Airlines charter service to Kaohsiung was announced in 2014 in order to cater to packaged tours from Taiwan.
• Kumamoto was one of three nationally-owned airports to turn a profit in fiscal year 2011.
• Because of Kumamoto Airport's relatively low elevation of 632 feet, planes can take off or land at Kumamoto 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.