Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Corvo Airport (CVU), Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,447 miles (or 7,157 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 Corvo 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 Eielson Air Force Base and Corvo 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 Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• On 7 June 1943, the Western Defense Command ordered construction of a new airfield near present-day Fort Wainwright, then an Army airfield named after Major Arthur Ladd.
• Eielson is home to the 354th Fighter Wing which is part of the Eleventh Air Force of Pacific Air Forces.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• The 375th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, from the 308th Bombardment Group at Tinker AFB Oklahoma, arrived at Eielson on 5 March 1949.
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
• 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.

Facts about Corvo Airport (CVU):

• In addition to being known as "Corvo Airport", another name for CVU is "Aeródromo de Corvo".
• Corvo Airport (CVU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Corvo Airport (CVU) is Flinders Island Airport (FLS), which is nearly antipodal to Corvo Airport (meaning Corvo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flinders Island Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Flinders Island, Tasmania, Australia.
• Because of Corvo Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at Corvo 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 Corvo Airport (CVU) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) S of CVU.
• Aviation in the Azores
• Opened on 12 January 2005, SATA Gestão de Aeródromos was established to operate the smaller airports on the islands of Pico, Graciosa, Corvo and São Jorge.
• On 3 August 2012, CDS-PP deputy Paulo Rosa denounced the lack of security in the Azore's smallest aerodrome, citing the recommended measures stipulated by the IATA after 11 September 2001.
• Corvo Airport handled 3,839 passengers last year.