Nonstop flight route between Drummond Island, Michigan, United States and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Drummond Island Airport (DRE), Drummond Island, Michigan, United States and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,654 miles (or 4,272 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 Drummond Island 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 Drummond Island 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Drummond Island Airport (DRE):

• The closest airport to Drummond Island Airport (DRE) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) WNW of DRE.
• Drummond Island Airport (DRE) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Drummond Island Airport (DRE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,142 miles (17,931 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Drummond Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 668 feet, planes can take off or land at Drummond Island 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.
• In addition to being known as "Drummond Island Airport", another name for DRE is "DRM".

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• The base reopened in September 1946, once again as a satellite of Ladd Field.
• On 1 December 1947 Strategic Air Command B-29 Superfortress bombers arrived at 26-Mile Airfield with the deployment of the 97th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, from Smoky Hill AFB, Kansas.
• Taken off deployment status in 2007 as a result of BRAC 2005, today the primary mission of the base is to support Red Flag-Alaska, a series of Pacific Air Forces commander-directed field training exercises for U.S.
• 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.
• The 6th SW flew RC–135 strategic reconnaissance missions with an assigned squadron, and, with KC–135s deployed to Eielson from SAC, AFRES, and the ANG, conducted Alaska Tanker Task Force missions to support reconnaissance and numerous exercises for the Air Force and Navy.