Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Cognac / Châteaubernard, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG), Cognac / Châteaubernard, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,606 miles (or 7,412 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 Eielson Air Force Base and Cognac - Châteaubernard Air 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 Eielson Air Force Base and Cognac - Châteaubernard Air 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 Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• 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.
• 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 Cold War seen the use of Eielson's expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U.S.
• The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• In 1984, the 343d Composite Wing was redesignated a Tactical Fighter Wing.
• Eielson is home to the 354th Fighter Wing which is part of the Eleventh Air Force of Pacific Air Forces.

Facts about Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG):

• Because of Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base's relatively low elevation of 102 feet, planes can take off or land at Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base 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.
• Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG) is Angoulême - Brie - Champniers Airport (ANG), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) E of CNG.
• The furthest airport from Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (meaning Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,208 miles (19,647 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base", another name for CNG is "Base aérienne 709 Cognac-Châteaubernard".