Nonstop flight route between Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Manas International Airport (FRU), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,736 miles (or 10,840 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 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 Whiteman 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 Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL):

• Construction on Whiteman continued throughout the 1950s.
• The host unit at Whiteman AFB is the 509th Bomb Wing, assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.
• The 509th Force Support Squadron is a part of the * 509th Mission Support Group at Whiteman AFB Missouri.
• 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.
• Whiteman initially employed the Minuteman I weapons system until the mid-1960s, when a force modernization program converted the Minuteman I to the Minuteman II.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".
• 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.
• In May 1942, construction workers descended upon an area known to locals as the "Blue Flats" because of the color of the soil and began building a railroad spur for the new air base.

Facts about Manas International Airport (FRU):

• Manas International Airport (FRU) currently has only 1 runway.
• When Kyrgyzstan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the airport began a slow but steady decline as its infrastructure remained neglected for almost ten years and a sizable aircraft boneyard developed.
• The closest airport to Manas International Airport (FRU) is Almaty International Airport (ALA), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) E of FRU.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Manas International Airport", other names for FRU include "Манас эл аралык аэропорту", "FRU (БИШ)" and "UCFM".