Nonstop flight route between Decatur, Illinois, United States and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DEC to EIL:
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- About this route
- DEC Airport Information
- EIL Airport Information
- Facts about DEC
- Facts about EIL
- Map of Nearest Airports to DEC
- List of Nearest Airports to DEC
- Map of Furthest Airports from DEC
- List of Furthest Airports from DEC
- Map of Nearest Airports to EIL
- List of Nearest Airports to EIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from EIL
- List of Furthest Airports from EIL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Decatur Airport (DEC), Decatur, Illinois, United States and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,849 miles (or 4,586 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 Decatur Airport and Eielson 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 Decatur Airport and Eielson Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DEC / KDEC |
Airport Name: | Decatur Airport |
Location: | Decatur, Illinois, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°50'3"N by 88°51'56"W |
Area Served: | Decatur, Illinois |
Operator/Owner: | Decatur Park District |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 682 feet (208 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from DEC |
More Information: | DEC Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | EIL / PAEI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fairbanks, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 64°39'56"N by 147°6'5"W |
View all routes: | Routes from EIL |
More Information: | EIL Maps & Info |
Facts about Decatur Airport (DEC):
- Decatur Airport is a public airport five miles east of Decatur, in Macon County, Illinois.
- The closest airport to Decatur Airport (DEC) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) ENE of DEC.
- Because of Decatur Airport's relatively low elevation of 682 feet, planes can take off or land at Decatur 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.
- Decatur Airport (DEC) has 3 runways.
- Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 1,232 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 672 in 2009 and 2,456 in 2010.
- The furthest airport from Decatur Airport (DEC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,056 miles (17,793 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The Illinois Army National Guard has an Army Aviation Support Facility at the airport.
Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):
- The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- The Cold War seen the use of Eielson's expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U.S.
- A new chapter for the base began 1 October 1981 when the 343d Composite Wing replaced the 5010th as Eielson's host unit.
- The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
- A month later, contractors and civilian crews from Ladd Field started laying out the new airfield.
- For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
- In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".