Nonstop flight route between Beckley, West Virginia, United States and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BKW to EIL:
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- About this route
- BKW Airport Information
- EIL Airport Information
- Facts about BKW
- Facts about EIL
- Map of Nearest Airports to BKW
- List of Nearest Airports to BKW
- Map of Furthest Airports from BKW
- List of Furthest Airports from BKW
- 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 Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW), Beckley, West Virginia, United States and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,196 miles (or 5,143 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 Raleigh County Memorial 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 Raleigh County Memorial 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: | BKW / KBKW |
| Airport Name: | Raleigh County Memorial Airport |
| Location: | Beckley, West Virginia, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°47'13"N by 81°7'27"W |
| Area Served: | Beckley, West Virginia |
| Operator/Owner: | Raleigh County Airport Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 2504 feet (763 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BKW |
| More Information: | BKW Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW):
- Raleigh County Memorial Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Beckley, a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States.
- Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,491 miles (18,494 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) is Mercer County Airport (BLF), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) S of BKW.
Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):
- 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 year later, however, Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control.
- 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.
- Within the first year of its arrival the 354 FW hosted an Arctic combat search and rescue exercise between the United States, Canada, and Russia.
- On 7 June 1943, the Western Defense Command ordered construction of a new airfield near present-day Fort Wainwright, then an Army airfield named after Major Arthur Ladd.
- The 58th Weather Squadron remained at Eielson until 8 August 1958.
- In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
