Nonstop flight route between Franklin, Pennsylvania, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Venango Regional Airport (FKL), Franklin, Pennsylvania, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,588 miles (or 7,383 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 Venango Regional 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 Venango Regional 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Venango Regional Airport (FKL):

• In addition to being known as "Venango Regional Airport", another name for FKL is "Chess Lamberton Field".
• Construction of Chess Lamberton Airport as it was originally known, began in 1950.
• Venango Regional Airport (FKL) has 2 runways.
• Venango Regional Airport covers an area of 420 acres at an elevation of 1,540 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Venango Regional Airport (FKL) is Port Meadville Airport (MEJ), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of FKL.
• The furthest airport from Venango Regional Airport (FKL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,472 miles (18,463 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• In August 1988, at least one Aries rocket was launched, relating to the Queen Match program, for anti-ballistic missile testing.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• 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.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.