Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from EIL to RIA:
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- About this route
- EIL Airport Information
- RIA Airport Information
- Facts about EIL
- Facts about RIA
- Map of Nearest Airports to EIL
- List of Nearest Airports to EIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from EIL
- List of Furthest Airports from EIL
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIA
- List of Nearest Airports to RIA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIA
- List of Furthest Airports from RIA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Santa Maria Airport (RIA), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,156 miles (or 13,125 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 Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | EIL / PAEI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fairbanks, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 64°39'56"N by 147°6'5"W |
View all routes: | Routes from EIL |
More Information: | EIL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RIA / SBSM |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°42'38"S by 53°41'31"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria |
Operator/Owner: | Brazilian Air Force |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 289 feet (88 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIA |
More Information: | RIA Maps & Info |
Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):
- The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
- In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
- The 58th Weather Squadron remained at Eielson until 8 August 1958.
- Eielson is home to the 354th Fighter Wing which is part of the Eleventh Air Force of Pacific Air Forces.
- The 6th SW remained at Eielson AFB until 1992.
- Operational uses of Mile 26 were few.
- 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.
- For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
- 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.
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (RIA):
- Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 289 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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 furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is Aguni Airport (AGJ), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aguni Airport), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Aguni, Japan.
- Since 1971, with the creation of the Santa Maria Air Force Base, civil and military facilities are shared.
- Santa Maria Airport is the airport serving Santa Maria, Brazil.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is João Batista Bos Filho Airport (IJU), which is located 93 miles (150 kilometers) N of RIA.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for RIA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- Santa Maria Airport (RIA) has 2 runways.