Nonstop flight route between Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands and Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Saipan International Airport (SPN), Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands and NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,226 miles (or 13,238 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 NAS Key West, 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 NAS Key West. 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):

• SPN was a sugarcane field before the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service constructed a temporary landing field on the site in 1933.
• In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".
• The closest airport to Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Tinian International Airport (TIQ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of SPN.
• The IJNAS assigned two squadrons of Mitsubishi A6M5a-52 Zeros to the airfield in mid-June 1944.
• Saipan International Airport covers an area of 734 acres which contains one paved runway measuring 8,700 x 200 ft.
• Saipan International Airport (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• The airfield was liberated by the United States Army 27th Infantry Division on June 18, 1944 during the Battle of Saipan.

Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):

• The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West 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.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
• NAS Key West is a state-of-the-art training facility for air-to-air combat fighter aircraft of all military services, with perfect flying weather year round and unparalleled aerial ranges that offer aircrew training within minutes after takeoff.
• During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, NAS Key West's Trumbo Point Annex and Truman Annex waterfront pier areas served as the home port for the Pegasus-class hydrofoils of Patrol Hydrofoil Missile Squadron ONE.
• NAS Key West was to become a focal point during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which posed the first doorstep threat to America in more than a century.
• Naval Air Station Key West, is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States.
• The closest airport to NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
• On 22 September of that year, the base's log book recorded the first naval flight ever made from Key West – a Curtiss N-9 seaplane flown by U.S.
• NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.