Nonstop flight route between Raroia, French Polynesia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RRR to SYA:
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- About this route
- RRR Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about RRR
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to RRR
- List of Nearest Airports to RRR
- Map of Furthest Airports from RRR
- List of Furthest Airports from RRR
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Raroia Airport (RRR), Raroia, French Polynesia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,409 miles (or 8,705 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 Raroia Airport and Eareckson Air Station, 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 Raroia Airport and Eareckson Air Station. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RRR / NTKO |
Airport Name: | Raroia Airport |
Location: | Raroia, French Polynesia |
GPS Coordinates: | 16°2'48"S by 142°28'36"W |
Area Served: | Garumaoa, Raroia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia |
Operator/Owner: | DSEAC Polynésie française |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 16 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RRR |
More Information: | RRR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Raroia Airport (RRR):
- Because of Raroia Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Raroia 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.
- The closest airport to Raroia Airport (RRR) is Makemo Airport (MKP), which is located 87 miles (139 kilometers) WSW of RRR.
- The furthest airport from Raroia Airport (RRR) is Kassala Airport (KSL), which is nearly antipodal to Raroia Airport (meaning Raroia Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kassala Airport), and is located 12,345 miles (19,868 kilometers) away in Kassala, Sudan.
- Raroia Airport (RRR) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
- The station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
- On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
- In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
- A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
- Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station 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.