Nonstop flight route between Greenwood, South Carolina, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Greenwood County Airport (GRD), Greenwood, South Carolina, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,892 miles (or 7,872 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 Greenwood County 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 Greenwood County 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 Greenwood County Airport (GRD):

• Greenwood County Airport (GRD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Greenwood County Airport covers an area of 1,380 acres at an elevation of 631 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Greenwood County Airport (GRD) is Anderson Regional Airport (AND), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) WNW of GRD.
• In addition to being known as "Greenwood County Airport", another name for GRD is "Coronaca Army Airfield".
• Because of Greenwood County Airport's relatively low elevation of 631 feet, planes can take off or land at Greenwood County 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 Greenwood County Airport (GRD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,450 miles (18,427 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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 "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.