Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Iron Mountain / Kingsford, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Ford Airport (IMT), Iron Mountain / Kingsford, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,628 miles (or 4,229 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 Ford 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 Ford 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):

• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of 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 installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S.
• 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.
• It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, Joint Task Force-Alaska, Eleventh Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.
• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".

Facts about Ford Airport (IMT):

• The furthest airport from Ford Airport (IMT) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,966 miles (17,647 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Ford Airport (IMT) has 2 runways.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 3,998 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 5,475 enplanements in 2009, and 6,943 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Ford Airport (IMT) is Delta County Airport (ESC), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) E of IMT.
• Ford Airport covers an area of 720 acres at an elevation of 1182 feet.