Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Samedan Airport (SMV), St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,647 miles (or 7,478 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 Ladd Army Airfield and Samedan 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 Ladd Army Airfield and Samedan 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 Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield 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.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• Ferrying and Transport Units
• Reflecting the need to insure aircraft bound for the Soviet Union were prepared for the flight to Galena and Nome, prior to flying across the Bering Straits to Siberia, Ladd AAF the Alaska Air Depot of XI AF Service Command was activated on 8 July 1942.
• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The airplanes arrived at Ladd were stripped of all but basic instrumentation and armament.
• Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• Ladd was not exclusively an Air Force site.

Facts about Samedan Airport (SMV):

• Samedan Airport, also known as Engadin Airport, is a regional airport in Samedan in the Engadin valley of Switzerland, 5 km from St.
• In addition to being known as "Samedan Airport", another name for SMV is "Flughafen Engadin".
• The airport has one runway designated 03/21 with an asphalt pavement measuring 1800 x 40 metres.
• At an elevation of 1,707 metres, it is one of the highest airports in Europe.
• The furthest airport from Samedan Airport (SMV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Samedan Airport (meaning Samedan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,075 miles (19,433 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Samedan Airport's high elevation of 5,600 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SMV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SMV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Samedan Airport (SMV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Samedan Airport (SMV) is Lugano Airport (LUG), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SW of SMV.