Nonstop flight route between San Bernardino, California, United States and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States and Manas International Airport (FRU), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,055 miles (or 11,353 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 Norton Air Force Base and Manas International 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 Norton Air Force Base and Manas International 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 Norton Air Force Base (SBD):

• With the air force moving into the jet age in the late 1940s, Norton began overhauling jet engines in 1951, and the San Bernardino Air Materiel Area became one of three air force jet overhaul centers by 1953.
• Norton was placed on the Department of Defense's base closure list in 1989.
• Norton Air Force Base began before World War II as Municipal Airport, San Bernardino under Army Air Corps jurisdiction.
• Major secondary missions of Norton Air Force Base was as Headquarters Air Defense Command for Southern California, during the 1950s and 1960s.
• For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility for a variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies as part of Air Materiel/Air Force Logistics Command, then as part of Military Airlift/Air Mobility Command.
• The furthest airport from Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,447 miles (18,423 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
• The closest airport to Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is San Bernardino International Airport (SBT), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) S of SBD.
• Discrete C-130 Hercules modification tests were conducted out of Area II of the base in the late 1960s, with the 1198th Operational Evaluation and Training Squadron operating four highly classified C-130E special operations testbeds modified at Lockheed Air Services, at near-by Ontario Airport under projects Thin Slice and Heavy Chain.

Facts about Manas International Airport (FRU):

• Around the same time the Kyrgyz government performed a major expansion and renovation of the passenger terminal, funded in part by the sizable landing fees paid by coalition forces.
• It is also the site of the Transit Center at Manas, formerly known as Manas Air Base, a US Air Force base supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
• In addition to being known as "Manas International Airport", other names for FRU include "Манас эл аралык аэропорту", "FRU (БИШ)" and "UCFM".
• The furthest airport from Manas International Airport (FRU) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,317 miles (18,213 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The closest airport to Manas International Airport (FRU) is Almaty International Airport (ALA), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) E of FRU.
• The airport is operational 24 hours and its ILS system meets ICAO CAT II standards, which enables aircraft operations in low ceiling ) and visibility ).
• Manas International Airport (FRU) currently has only 1 runway.