Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Sparta, Wisconsin, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Sparta/Fort McCoy Airport (CMY), Sparta, Wisconsin, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,635 miles (or 4,241 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 Elmendorf Air Force Base and Sparta/Fort McCoy 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 Elmendorf Air Force Base and Sparta/Fort McCoy 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 Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• Despite a diminished number of personnel and aircraft, a turning point in Elmendorf's history occurred in 1970 with the arrival of the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron in June 1970 from MacDill AFB, Florida.
• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.
• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.

Facts about Sparta/Fort McCoy Airport (CMY):

• Sparta/Fort McCoy Airport (CMY) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Sparta/Fort McCoy Airport (CMY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,894 miles (17,532 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Sparta/Fort McCoy Airport's relatively low elevation of 838 feet, planes can take off or land at Sparta/Fort McCoy 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 Sparta/Fort McCoy Airport (CMY) is Volk Field Air National Guard Base (VOK), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) E of CMY.