Nonstop flight route between Decatur, Illinois, United States and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DEC to FBK:
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- About this route
- DEC Airport Information
- FBK Airport Information
- Facts about DEC
- Facts about FBK
- 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 FBK
- List of Nearest Airports to FBK
- Map of Furthest Airports from FBK
- List of Furthest Airports from FBK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Decatur Airport (DEC), Decatur, Illinois, United States and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,866 miles (or 4,613 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 Ladd Army Airfield, 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 Ladd Army Airfield. 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: | FBK / PAFB |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 64°50'15"N by 147°36'51"W |
Area Served: | Fort Wainwright |
Operator/Owner: | United States Army |
Airport Type: | Military: Army Airfield |
Elevation: | 454 feet (138 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FBK |
More Information: | FBK Maps & Info |
Facts about Decatur Airport (DEC):
- The closest airport to Decatur Airport (DEC) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) ENE of DEC.
- 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.
- Decatur Airport (DEC) has 3 runways.
- Decatur Airport covers 2,100 acres at an elevation of 682 feet.
- 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.
Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):
- Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.
- Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
- By the end of the war, 7,926 aircraft were ferried though Ladd Field.
- During 1946-1950, personnel from Ladd laid some of the groundwork of the early Cold War with strategic reconnaissance and Arctic research projects.
- The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
- The airplanes arrived at Ladd were stripped of all but basic instrumentation and armament.
- The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
- From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska.
- Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".