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.
• Construction of the new San Angelo Air Corps Basic Flying School began at once.
• 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.
• After 38 years of pilot and then intelligence training, Goodfellow's mission had apparently come to a close with the announcement in 1978 that the base would revert to Air Training Command and was a candidate for closure.
• 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.
• On 1 July 1993, the 17th Training Wing was activated on Goodfellow AFB.

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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of 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.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.