Nonstop flight route between Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands and Chico, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Saipan International Airport (SPN), Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands and Chico Municipal Airport (CIC), Chico, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,679 miles (or 9,140 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 Saipan International Airport and Chico Municipal 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 Saipan International Airport and Chico Municipal 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 Saipan International Airport (SPN):

• Saipan International Airport (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the end of the war the wing's four bomb groups were all returned to the United States, with their B-29s either being flown to Clark Air Base in the Philippines for scrapping, or were flown to storage facilities in Texas or Arizona.
• Because of Saipan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Saipan 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.
• Saipan International Airport covers an area of 734 acres which contains one paved runway measuring 8,700 x 200 ft.
• The furthest airport from Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Saipan International Airport (meaning Saipan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,125 miles (19,514 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• The airfield was liberated by the United States Army 27th Infantry Division on June 18, 1944 during the Battle of Saipan.
• The closest airport to Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Tinian International Airport (TIQ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of SPN.
• In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".

Facts about Chico Municipal Airport (CIC):

• In April 1944 the mission of the Field was changed from basic flying training of cadets to training of fighter pilots.
• Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) has 2 runways.
• An all black company was assigned to the Field in August 1942.
• The closest airport to Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) is Oroville Municipal Airport (OVE), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) SSE of CIC.
• In addition to being known as "Chico Municipal Airport", another name for CIC is "Chico Army Airfield".
• Southwest Airways and its successors including Pacific Air Lines, Air West and Hughes Airwest were the only airline serving Chico from 1947 until June 1979.
• On 30 January 1959 the Air Force announced plans to conduct surveys in the vicinity of Beale Air Force Base to determine the feasibility for missile bases.
• Because of Chico Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 73 feet, planes can take off or land at Chico Municipal 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 Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,229 miles (18,071 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.