Nonstop flight route between Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FIN to SYA:
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- About this route
- FIN Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about FIN
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to FIN
- List of Nearest Airports to FIN
- Map of Furthest Airports from FIN
- List of Furthest Airports from FIN
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Finschhafen Airport (FIN), Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,380 miles (or 7,049 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 Finschhafen Airport and Eareckson Air Station, 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 Finschhafen Airport and Eareckson Air Station. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | FIN / AYFI |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea |
| GPS Coordinates: | 6°37'20"S by 147°51'14"E |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 33 feet (10 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from FIN |
| More Information: | FIN Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
| More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Finschhafen Airport (FIN):
- In addition to being known as "Finschhafen Airport", another name for FIN is "Finschhafen Airport".
- Because of Finschhafen Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Finschhafen 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 Finschhafen Airport (FIN) is Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) W of FIN.
- Finschhafen Airport (FIN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Finschhafen Airport (FIN) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
- At the war's end, millions of dollars of equipment both new and used was bulldozed into a huge holes in the area and abandoned.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station 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.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
- The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
- It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
- In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
- The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
- The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
