Nonstop flight route between Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Chengdu, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), Chengdu, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,517 miles (or 12,098 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 Whiteman Air Force Base and Chengdu Shuangliu 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 Whiteman Air Force Base and Chengdu Shuangliu 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 Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL):

• Named in honor of 2d Lieutenant George Allison Whiteman.
• The 476th Fighter Group, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, is an Air Force Reserve Command unit linked to the 23rd Fighter Group at Moody.
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.
• In August 1951, SAC selected Sedalia AFB to be one of its new bombardment wings, with the first all-jet bomber, the B-47 Stratojet, and the KC-97 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft assigned to the unit.
• During the massive demobilization in the mid-1940s, the base closed and most of the buildings were abandoned.
• Meanwhile, the base continued to lead the way.
• The furthest airport from Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,815 miles (17,405 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Other aircraft assigned to Whiteman include the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack fighter.
• Whiteman AFB was established in 1942 as Sedalia Glider Base.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".

Facts about Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU):

• The furthest airport from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (meaning Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• On December 12, 1956, the Shuangguisi Airport was put under civil aviation, which was then formally listed as a civil aviation airport and renamed Chengdu Shuangliu Airport.
• Planes of Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines in Airside Concourse C
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport handled 31,500,000 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG), which is located 75 miles (121 kilometers) NE of CTU.
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport", other names for CTU include "成都双流国际机场" and "Chéngdū Shuāngliú Guójì Jīchǎng".