Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Chesterfield, Missouri, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS), Chesterfield, Missouri, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,865 miles (or 4,611 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 Spirit of St. Louis 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 Spirit of St. Louis 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• The Cold War seen the use of Eielson's expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U.S.
• A month later, contractors and civilian crews from Ladd Field started laying out the new airfield.
• 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 July 1960, the Strategic Air Command stationed the 4157th Combat Support Group 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.
• Operational uses of Mile 26 were few.
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
• The 58th Weather Squadron remained at Eielson until 8 August 1958.

Facts about Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS):

• The furthest airport from Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,971 miles (17,656 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Spirit of St. Louis Airport's relatively low elevation of 463 feet, planes can take off or land at Spirit of St. Louis 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 Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) is Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of SUS.
• Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) has 2 runways.
• In 2007, the airport finished a multi-million dollar expansion project to add a parallel taxiway to the north of 26R/8L.