Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Jacksonville, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX), Jacksonville, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,617 miles (or 5,821 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 Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1, 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 Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1. 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):

• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• Headquarters USAF General Order 2, dated 13 January 1948, redesignated Mile 26 as Eielson AFB.
• 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.
• 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.
• In July 1960, the Strategic Air Command stationed the 4157th Combat Support Group 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.

Facts about Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX):

• The largest airliner scheduled to Imeson was the McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61 flown by Delta Air Lines.
• The southeastern portion of Runway 30 has been reused as Imeson Park Boulevard.
• The furthest airport from Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,460 miles (18,442 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In an era of multistop airline flights JAX was busier than people nowadays would expect.
• Because of Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 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.
• With the closure of the base by Technical Service Command, a small portion of Jacksonville Army Airfield was transferred to the jurisdiction of Fourteenth Air Force on 15 December 1946 for subsequent use by postwar reserve forces.
• The closest airport to Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX) is Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNW of IJX.
• By 1941 the airport had expanded to 600 acres adding five hangars, a terminal building and five asphalt runways, the longest being 7,000 feet.
• Originally named Jacksonville Municipal Airport Number One, in the 1950s the facility was renamed after Thomas Cole Imeson, city councilman and later longtime commissioner in charge of airports and highways.