Nonstop flight route between Suffield, Alberta, Canada and Detroit, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between CFB Suffield (YSD), Suffield, Alberta, Canada and Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP), Detroit, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,422 miles (or 2,289 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 relatively short distance between CFB Suffield and Willow Run Airport (YIP), the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about CFB Suffield (YSD):

• In 1971 an agreement was signed between the British and Canadian governments permitting the British Army to use over three-quarters of the Suffield Block for armoured, infantry, and artillery live-fire training.
• The closest airport to CFB Suffield (YSD) is Medicine Hat Airport (YXH), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SE of YSD.
• The decision to designate the Suffield Block a military training facility in 1941 left tens of square kilometres of undisturbed prairie grassland intact from the effects of industrial agriculture.
• The furthest airport from CFB Suffield (YSD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,339 miles (16,640 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The base has its own radio station, CKBF-FM, which airs programming for both the Canadian and British military personnel stationed at the base.

Facts about Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP):

• Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) has 4 runways.
• The Willow Run plant was gigantic.
• Although the airfield itself and the buildings to the east of the runways had been built on Henry Ford's personal property, it is unclear how the parcels across the county line that became the site of the bomber plant were assembled.
• The closest airport to Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) is Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) E of YIP.
• The furthest airport from Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,276 miles (18,147 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The first Ford-built Liberators rolled off the Willow Run line in September 1942.
• United was the last carrier of those to use Willow Run, moving its remaining Detroit operations in 1967 to Metro Airport.
• By fall 1944 Willow Run had moved from the B-24L to the B-24M, the last Liberator to be built in significant numbers.
• Because of Willow Run Airport (YIP)'s relatively low elevation of 716 feet, planes can take off or land at Willow Run Airport (YIP) 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.
• After their manufacture, the next step in the process was the delivery of the aircraft to the squadrons.
• The Willow Run bomber plant had many problems at startup, due in part to the mindsets and technical skills of both management and labor, who were each accustomed to the requirements of auto production, finding it difficult at first to adapt to the higher precision required in aircraft production.
• While the planes were being serviced and made ready for overseas movement, personnel for these planes were also being processed.
• Today the Yankee Air Museum, in one of the airport hangars, has a large collection of vintage aircraft.