Nonstop flight route between Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Wales, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States and Wales Airport (WAA), Wales, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,388 miles (or 5,452 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 Wales 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 Wales 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".
• Several months after the air division's activation, on 30 Sep 1990, the 509th Bomb Wing moved its headquarters to Whiteman albeit in an unmanned and non-operational state.
• 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 June 1961, the Department of Defense chose Whiteman to host the fourth Minuteman ICBM wing.
• During the massive demobilization in the mid-1940s, the base closed and most of the buildings were abandoned.
• 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.
• Whiteman AFB is a joint-service base, with Air Force, Army and Navy units.
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.

Facts about Wales Airport (WAA):

• Because of Wales Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Wales 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 Wales Airport (WAA) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,385 miles (16,713 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• In addition to being known as "Wales Airport", another name for WAA is "IWK".
• The closest airport to Wales Airport (WAA) is Tin City LRRS Airport (TNC), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SE of WAA.
• Wales Airport (WAA) currently has only 1 runway.