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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF), San Angelo, Texas, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,346 miles (or 6,994 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 Goodfellow Air Force 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 Goodfellow Air Force 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 Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF):

• Although flight operations at Goodfellow decreased dramatically after 1958, minimal activities continued with both transient aircraft and locally-based Cessna U-3 Administrators, DeHavilland U-6 Beavers, Piasecki H-21, CH-21 and HH-21 Workhorse helicopters and Cessna O-2 Skymasters.
• The furthest airport from Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,146 miles (17,937 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Goodfellow's history traces to the days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but its name registered the valor and sacrifice of an earlier conflict.
• On 1 July 1993, the 17th Training Wing was activated on Goodfellow AFB.
• The closest airport to Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF) is San Angelo Regional Airport (SJT), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) SW of GOF.
• In 1992, as part of an overall organizational restructuring of the U.S.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1995, Eareckson AS was converted to contractor operations and maintenance, providing all support on the island.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".