Nonstop flight route between Yichang, Hubei, China and Spokane, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH), Yichang, Hubei, China and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,235 miles (or 10,035 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 Yichang Sanxia Airport and Fairchild 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 Yichang Sanxia Airport and Fairchild 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 Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH):

• In addition to being known as "Yichang Sanxia Airport", other names for YIH include "宜昌三峡机场" and "Yíchāng Sānxiá Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH) is Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Airport (UAQ), which is nearly antipodal to Yichang Sanxia Airport (meaning Yichang Sanxia Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in San Juan Province, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH) is Shashi Airport (SHS), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) ESE of YIH.
• Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• 7 December 1993 marked the beginning of a significant change in the mission of Fairchild when the B-52s were transferred to another ACC base while the KC-135s, now assigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command would remain.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• Over 5,100 active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, and tenant organization military and civilian employees work on Fairchild, making the base the largest employer in Eastern Washington.
• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
• Fairchild’s location, 12 miles west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington.
• As military operations in Vietnam escalated in the mid-1960s, the demand for air refueling increased.