Nonstop flight route between Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC), Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,823 miles (or 9,371 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 Cape Gloucester Airport and Ladd Army Airfield, 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 Cape Gloucester Airport and Ladd Army Airfield. 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 Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC):

• In addition to being known as "Cape Gloucester Airport", other names for CGC include "CPG" and "Cape Gloucester Airport".
• Because of Cape Gloucester Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Gloucester 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 Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) is Finschhafen Airport (FIN), which is located 90 miles (144 kilometers) SSW of CGC.
• Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Cape Gloucester was later developed as an American and an Australian air base but it was never a particularly significant one.
• The furthest airport from Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,791 miles (18,975 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• In 1948, as Cold War tensions heightened, the Army's 2nd Infantry sent ground defense soldiers to Ladd
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• Ferrying and Transport Units
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Weather and Testing Units
• When the Air Force was made a separate branch in 1947 the name was changed to Ladd Air Force Base.