Nonstop flight route between Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Narita (near Tokyo), Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Narita International Airport (NRT), Narita (near Tokyo), Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,246 miles (or 10,052 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 Narita 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 Narita 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):

• The host unit at Whiteman AFB is the 509th Bomb Wing, assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
• During the massive demobilization in the mid-1940s, the base closed and most of the buildings were abandoned.
• Whiteman AFB is a joint-service base, with Air Force, Army and Navy units.
• After the mission change in 1963, life on Whiteman remained relatively stable throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
• 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 addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".
• Other aircraft assigned to Whiteman include the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack fighter.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing and the active-duty 509th Bomb Wing have a unique relationship at Whiteman AFB, in that members of the two units work side-by-side on a daily basis, although the majority of the 131st Bomb Wing visits Whiteman only one weekend per month for drill.

Facts about Narita International Airport (NRT):

• Nippon Cargo Airlines has its headquarters on the grounds of Narita Airport, in the NCA Line Maintenance Hangar.
• For domestic flights, three gates in the main building are connected to both the main departures concourse and to a separate domestic check-in facility.
• In addition to being known as "Narita International Airport", other names for NRT include "成田国際空港" and "Narita Kokusai Kūkō".
• In 1962, the Japanese government began investigating possible alternatives to Haneda, and proposed a "New Tokyo International Airport" to take over Haneda's international flights.
• The furthest airport from Narita International Airport (NRT) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,686 miles (18,806 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Narita International Airport (NRT) has 2 runways.
• Because of Narita International Airport's relatively low elevation of 135 feet, planes can take off or land at Narita 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.
• Keisei operates two lines between Narita Airport and central Tokyo.
• The closest airport to Narita International Airport (NRT) is Tokyo International Airport (HND), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) WSW of NRT.
• Narita International Airport handled 31,432,754 passengers last year.