Nonstop flight route between Fort Worth, Texas, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH), Fort Worth, Texas, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,395 miles (or 7,073 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 Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base 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 Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base 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 Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH):

• Aircraft types initially based at NAS Fort Worth JRB were the F-14 Tomcat, F/A-18 Hornet and C-9B Skytrain II.
• As of June 2011, there were 11,300 employees on NAS Fort Worth JRB.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH) is Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport (FTW), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of FWH.
• The Commanding Officer of NAS Fort Worth JRB is Captain Robert A.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base", another name for FWH is "Carswell Field".
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,950 miles (17,623 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The base retained the name Carswell Air Force Base until 1993.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.