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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE), Gainesville, Texas, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,360 miles (or 7,017 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 Gainesville Municipal 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 Gainesville Municipal 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 Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE):

• Reassigned from Third Air Force in April 1944 to AAF Central Flying Training Command.
• The airport was opened in August 1941 as Gainesville Army Airfield and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force as a training base to provide photographic intelligence for air and ground forces.
• Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,905 miles (17,550 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Gainesville Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Gainesville Municipal 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 Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE) is North Texas Regional Airport (PNX), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) E of GLE.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1995, Eareckson AS was converted to contractor operations and maintenance, providing all support on the island.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• 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.
• 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 limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.