Nonstop flight route between Luganville, Vanuatu and Spokane, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SON to SKA:
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- About this route
- SON Airport Information
- SKA Airport Information
- Facts about SON
- Facts about SKA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SON
- List of Nearest Airports to SON
- Map of Furthest Airports from SON
- List of Furthest Airports from SON
- Map of Nearest Airports to SKA
- List of Nearest Airports to SKA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SKA
- List of Furthest Airports from SKA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON), Luganville, Vanuatu and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,340 miles (or 10,203 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 Santo-Pekoa International Airport and Fairchild 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 Santo-Pekoa International Airport and Fairchild Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SON / NVSS |
| Airport Name: | Santo-Pekoa International Airport |
| Location: | Luganville, Vanuatu |
| GPS Coordinates: | 15°30'20"S by 167°13'17"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Airports Vanuatu Limited |
| Elevation: | 184 feet (56 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SON |
| More Information: | SON Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SKA / KSKA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Spokane, Washington, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°36'54"N by 117°39'20"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from SKA |
| More Information: | SKA Maps & Info |
Facts about Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON):
- Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) currently has only 1 runway.
- The 7th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Santo on 11 August 1942 and began construction of more extensive air facilities to support the Guadalcanal Campaign.
- The Thirteenth Air Force was based at Pekoa from 13 January 1943 until 20 January 1944 when it moved to Carney Airfield on Guadalcanal.
- The closest airport to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Norsup Airport (NUS), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SSE of SON.
- Because of Santo-Pekoa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 184 feet, planes can take off or land at Santo-Pekoa International 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 furthest airport from Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Ouro Sogui Airport (MAX), which is nearly antipodal to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (meaning Santo-Pekoa International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ouro Sogui Airport), and is located 12,400 miles (19,956 kilometers) away in Matam, Senegal.
Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):
- Fairchild is home to a wide variety of units and missions.
- The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
- As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base.
- In June 1992, with the inactivation of Strategic Air Command, the B-52 portion of the wing became part of the newly established Air Combat Command and was re-designated the 92d Bomb Wing.
- In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
- The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- From 1942 until 1946, the base served as a repair depot for damaged aircraft returning from the Pacific Theater.
- To provide air defense of the base, U.S.
- The weapons storage area for the bombers was located south of the runway at Deep Creek Air Force Station, a separate installation constructed from 1950 to 1953 by the Atomic Energy Commission and operated by the Air Materiel Command.
- Throughout much of the 1990s, the wing was actively involved in missions against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
