Nonstop flight route between Westhampton Beach, New York, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FOK to SYA:
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- About this route
- FOK Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about FOK
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to FOK
- List of Nearest Airports to FOK
- Map of Furthest Airports from FOK
- List of Furthest Airports from FOK
- 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 Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK), Westhampton Beach, New York, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,848 miles (or 7,802 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 Francis S. Gabreski 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 Francis S. Gabreski 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: | FOK / KFOK |
| Airport Name: | Francis S. Gabreski Airport |
| Location: | Westhampton Beach, New York, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°50'36"N by 72°37'54"W |
| Area Served: | Westhampton Beach, New York |
| Operator/Owner: | County of Suffolk |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military (ANG) |
| Elevation: | 67 feet (20 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from FOK |
| More Information: | FOK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
| Airport Names: |
|
| 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 Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK):
- Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) has 3 runways.
- Renamed when the United States Air Force reclaimed the airport in 1951, Suffolk County Air Force Base was part of the Eastern Air Defense Force's defense of the New York City metropolitan area.
- The furthest airport from Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,798 miles (18,988 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Suffolk County AFB was also the main support base for the Suffolk County Missile Annex, a nearby USAF CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile launch complex for the defense of the New York City metropolitan area under the control of a missile launch control center at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.
- The Suffolk County Army Air Field was built in 1943 as a United States Army Air Forces sub-base of nearby Mitchel Field.
- Air Force One was also often located at the Air National Guard base in the summers of 1998 and 1999 during weeklong visits by President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton during extended stays at the Georgica Pond home of film director Steven Spielberg in East Hampton, New York.
- The Suffolk County Police Aviation Section bases a Law Enforcement and MEDEVAC helicopter at the airport.
- Because of Francis S. Gabreski Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Francis S. Gabreski 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 Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Calverton Executive Airpark (CTO), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of FOK.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- On 27 January 1992 the 5073rd Air Base Group located at Shemya AFB was re-designated as the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force 673d Air Base Group.
- 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.
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
