Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Kikaiga Shima, Kikai-Shima Island, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Kikai Airport (KKX), Kikaiga Shima, Kikai-Shima Island, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,156 miles (or 9,908 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 Tonopah Test Range Airport and Kikai 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 Tonopah Test Range Airport and Kikai 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 Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):

• Tonopah is owned by the USAF Air Combat Command.
• Several locations were considered, Michael Army Airfield at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah, and the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field on the Goldwater Range in Arizona.
• All the models had quirks.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
• In May 1973, when Project HAVE IDEA was initiated for joint technical and tactical evaluation of Soviet aircraft types, the tactical evaluation flights of foreign aircraft were undertaken by Detachment 1, 57th Fighter Weapons Wing.
• The furthest airport from Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,207 miles (18,036 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In 1997, the United States purchased 21 Moldovan aircraft for evaluation and analysis, under the Cooperative Threat Reduction accord.
• In July 1975, the 4477th Tactical Evaluation Flight was formed at Nellis AFB as tactical evaluation organization.

Facts about Kikai Airport (KKX):

• In addition to being known as "Kikai Airport", other names for KKX include "Kikai/Kikaigashima Island Airport", "喜界空港" and "Kikai Kūkō".
• Because of Kikai Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Kikai 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 closest airport to Kikai Airport (KKX) is Amami Airport (ASJ), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) WNW of KKX.
• The furthest airport from Kikai Airport (KKX) is Antônio Correia Pinto de Macedo Airport (LAJ), which is nearly antipodal to Kikai Airport (meaning Kikai Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Antônio Correia Pinto de Macedo Airport), and is located 12,397 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Kikai Airport (KKX) currently has only 1 runway.