Nonstop flight route between Gunnison, Colorado, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC), Gunnison, Colorado, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,738 miles (or 6,015 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 Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional 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 Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional 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 Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC):

• The closest airport to Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) is Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) N of GUC.
• Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) has 2 runways.
• Because of Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport's high elevation of 7,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GUC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GUC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Passengers at Gunnison are mainly vacationers coming to the area for year-round outdoor activities, such as skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, mountain biking, fishing, rafting, hiking and camping.
• Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport covers 1,600 acres and had two runways.
• The furthest airport from Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,016 miles (17,728 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

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.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
• 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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 has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".