Nonstop flight route between Ames, Iowa, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ames Municipal Airport (AMW), Ames, Iowa, United States and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,642 miles (or 4,251 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 Ames Municipal Airport and Elmendorf 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 Ames Municipal Airport and Elmendorf Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ames Municipal Airport (AMW):

• Ames Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two miles southeast of the central business district of Ames, a city in Story County, Iowa, United States.
• From May 10, 2010 through June 11, 2010, there were between five and six arrivals/departures at Ames each day.
• Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) has 2 runways.
• According to NTSB records, the airport has had no fatal accidents since 1962.
• The closest airport to Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) is Boone Municipal Airport (BNW), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) WNW of AMW.
• The furthest airport from Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,785 miles (17,357 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• That importance was further recognized when the F-15E Strike Eagle equipped 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reassigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base from Clark Air Base in the Philippines in May 1991.
• Air defense forces reached their zenith in 1957 with almost 200 fighter aircraft assigned to six fighter interceptor squadrons located at Elmendorf AFB and Ladd AFB.
• On 22 September 1995, a Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne early warning and control aircraft with 22 USAF personnel and two Canadian air crew members crashed after ingesting a flock of Canada Geese, killing all on board.
• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.
• Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.