Nonstop flight route between Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan and Mountain Home, Idaho, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wakkanai Airport (WKJ), Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan and Mountain Home Air Force Base (MUO), Mountain Home, Idaho, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,690 miles (or 7,548 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 Wakkanai Airport and Mountain Home Air Force Base, 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 Wakkanai Airport and Mountain Home Air Force Base. 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 Wakkanai Airport (WKJ):

• Until 1989, the JNR Temboku Line passed by the airport.
• Wakkanai Airport (WKJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Wakkanai Airport (WKJ) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,446 miles (18,420 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• Wakkanai Airport opened to passenger traffic in 1960, initially on an irregular basis.
• The closest airport to Wakkanai Airport (WKJ) is Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE), which is located 109 miles (176 kilometers) SE of WKJ.
• In addition to being known as "Wakkanai Airport", other names for WKJ include "稚内空港" and "Wakkanai Kūkō".
• Because of Wakkanai Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Wakkanai 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.

Facts about Mountain Home Air Force Base (MUO):

• Crews started building the base in November 1942 and the new field officially opened on 7 August 1943.
• Mountain Home's first operational USAF unit was the Strategic Air Command 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Group which was reassigned from Clark Field in the Philippines, being assigned on 26 May 1949.
• The 366th Fighter Wing has been the host unit at Mountain Home for over 35 years, following its return from the Vietnam War in late 1972.
• In addition to being known as "Mountain Home Air Force Base", another name for MUO is "Mountain Home AFB".
• The closest airport to Mountain Home Air Force Base (MUO) is Boise Airport (BOI), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) NNW of MUO.
• The furthest airport from Mountain Home Air Force Base (MUO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,858 miles (17,474 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The pending assignment of the new RB-36 Peacemaker to the 5th SRW, along with the inadequacy of its World War II facilities to support the large aircraft led SAC to move the 5th SRW to Fairfield-Suisun AFB, California on 9 November 1949.
• Two years later, SAC's mission at MHAFB began to wind down as part of the phaseout of the B-47.
• The base also received fighter aircraft to add realism to its training.