Nonstop flight route between Galbraith Lake, Alaska, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GBH to SYA:
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- About this route
- GBH Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about GBH
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GBH
- List of Nearest Airports to GBH
- Map of Furthest Airports from GBH
- List of Furthest Airports from GBH
- 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 Galbraith Lake Airport (GBH), Galbraith Lake, Alaska, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,604 miles (or 2,582 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 relatively short distance between Galbraith Lake Airport and Eareckson Air Station, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GBH / PAGB |
Airport Name: | Galbraith Lake Airport |
Location: | Galbraith Lake, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 68°28'46"N by 149°29'24"W |
Area Served: | Galbraith Lake, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2663 feet (812 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GBH |
More Information: | GBH 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 Galbraith Lake Airport (GBH):
- The closest airport to Galbraith Lake Airport (GBH) is Anaktuvuk Pass Airport (AKP), which is located 62 miles (100 kilometers) WSW of GBH.
- The furthest airport from Galbraith Lake Airport (GBH) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,055 miles (16,181 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- Galbraith Lake Airport (GBH) currently has only 1 runway.
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.
- It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
- On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.