Nonstop flight route between Brookings, South Dakota, United States and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Brookings Regional Airport (BKX), Brookings, South Dakota, United States and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,381 miles (or 3,832 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 relatively short distance between Brookings Regional Airport and Ladd Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Brookings Regional Airport (BKX):

• The closest airport to Brookings Regional Airport (BKX) is Madison Municipal Airport (XMD), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) SW of BKX.
• The furthest airport from Brookings Regional Airport (BKX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,597 miles (17,053 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Brookings Regional Airport (BKX) has 2 runways.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• 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.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ice fog became a problem for airplanes landing at the field.
• 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.
• When the Air Force was made a separate branch in 1947 the name was changed to Ladd Air Force Base.
• 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.
• From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska.