Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Ottumwa, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM), Ottumwa, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,727 miles (or 4,389 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 Ottumwa Regional 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 Ottumwa Regional 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 adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• 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 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 closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".

Facts about Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM):

• Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,856 miles (17,470 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Ottumwa Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Ottumwa Regional 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 Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM) is Fairfield Municipal Airport (FFL), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) E of OTM.
• With the end of World War II and much less need for large numbers of aviators, NAS Ottumwa was transitioned from a flight training role to one of classroom-based pre-flight training on December 7, 1945—exactly four years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
• Ottumwa Regional Airport received a $3.9 million renovation in 2009.