Nonstop flight route between Del Rio, Texas, United States and Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States and Wainwright Airport (AIN), Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,619 miles (or 5,824 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 Laughlin Air Force Base and Wainwright Airport, 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 Laughlin Air Force Base and Wainwright Airport. 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 Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF):

• Another 4080th pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., perished when his U-2 was hit by shrapnel from a Soviet-made SA-2 on October 22, 1962 while overflying Cuba from McCoy AFB.
• The median income for a household on the base was $38,625, and the median income for a family was $38,625.
• The closest airport to Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Del Rio International Airport (DRT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of DLF.
• Today, aircraft flown at Laughlin include the T-6A Texan II, the T-38C Talon and T-1A Jayhawk.
• Laughlin U-2s were among the first to provide photographic evidence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba in 1962 when 4080th U-2 pilot Major Steve Heyser flew his U-2C over Cuba after taking off from Edwards AFB, California.
• The furthest airport from Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,091 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Laughlin AFB, the largest pilot training base in the USAF, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Education and Training Command.
• The Air Force transferred jurisdiction of the base to the Strategic Air Command on April 1, 1957 and the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing moved there from Turner Air Force Base, Georgia.

Facts about Wainwright Airport (AIN):

• The radar station was upgraded in the late 1980s with new radars and in 1989 was re-designated part of the North Warning System as a Long Range Radar Site, A-16, controlled by the Pacific Air Forces 611th Air Support Group, based at Elmendorf AFB.
• Wainwright Airport (AIN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Wainwright Airport", another name for AIN is "AWI".
• Because of Wainwright Airport's relatively low elevation of 45 feet, planes can take off or land at Wainwright 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 3,547 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 3,770 enplanements in 2009, and 4,129 in 2010.
• The LRR site was inactivated in 2007 due to soil erosion and budget concerns.
• The furthest airport from Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,348 miles (16,654 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• The closest airport to Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) E of AIN.