Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Stewart Island, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from EIL to SZS:
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- About this route
- EIL Airport Information
- SZS Airport Information
- Facts about EIL
- Facts about SZS
- Map of Nearest Airports to EIL
- List of Nearest Airports to EIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from EIL
- List of Furthest Airports from EIL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SZS
- List of Nearest Airports to SZS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SZS
- List of Furthest Airports from SZS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,077 miles (or 12,999 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 Eielson Air Force Base and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome, 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 Eielson Air Force Base and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | EIL / PAEI |
Airport Names: |
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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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SZS / NZRC |
Airport Name: | Ryan's Creek Aerodrome |
Location: | Stewart Island, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°53'58"S by 168°6'6"E |
Operator/Owner: | South East Air |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 288 feet (88 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SZS |
More Information: | SZS Maps & Info |
Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):
- The Cold War seen the use of Eielson's expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U.S.
- In July 1960, the Strategic Air Command stationed the 4157th Combat Support Group at Eielson.
- On 1 December 1947 Strategic Air Command B-29 Superfortress bombers arrived at 26-Mile Airfield with the deployment of the 97th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, from Smoky Hill AFB, Kansas.
- Headquarters USAF General Order 2, dated 13 January 1948, redesignated Mile 26 as Eielson AFB.
- A year later, however, Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control.
- Operational uses of Mile 26 were few.
- In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
- 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 closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
- Until 2007, Eielson was a front line base, deploying fighter and bomber units around the world as well as providing for the defense of Alaska.
Facts about Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):
- In the mid-1980s Stewart Island Air Services changed its name to Southern Air Limited with Keith Smith, Joe Cave, Bill Haslett and Sam Nicol as shareholders.
- The furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
- In 1990 a hill at one end of the strip was leveled.
- Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.