Nonstop flight route between Greenville, South Carolina, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Donaldson Center Airport (GDC), Greenville, South Carolina, United States and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,409 miles (or 5,487 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 Donaldson Center Airport and Elmendorf Air Force Base, 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 Donaldson Center Airport and Elmendorf Air Force Base. 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 Donaldson Center Airport (GDC):

• Because of Donaldson Center Airport's relatively low elevation of 955 feet, planes can take off or land at Donaldson Center 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 furthest airport from Donaldson Center Airport (GDC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,439 miles (18,410 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Donaldson Center Airport (GDC) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Donaldson Center Airport", another name for GDC is "GYH".
• The closest airport to Donaldson Center Airport (GDC) is Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NNE of GDC.
• Greenville Army Air Base opened in 1942 during World War II.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, Joint Task Force-Alaska, Eleventh Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• The late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s brought about a gradual, but significant decline in air defense forces in Alaska due to mission changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.
• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• On 16 November 2010, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took off for a training mission.