Nonstop flight route between Peru, Indiana, United States and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GUS to AWK:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- GUS Airport Information
- AWK Airport Information
- Facts about GUS
- Facts about AWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to GUS
- List of Nearest Airports to GUS
- Map of Furthest Airports from GUS
- List of Furthest Airports from GUS
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWK
- List of Nearest Airports to AWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWK
- List of Furthest Airports from AWK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS), Peru, Indiana, United States and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,206 miles (or 9,987 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 Grissom Air Reserve Base and Wake Island Airfield, 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 Grissom Air Reserve Base and Wake Island Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GUS / KGUS |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Peru, Indiana, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°38'53"N by 86°9'7"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from GUS |
| More Information: | GUS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | AWK / PWAK |
| Airport Name: | Wake Island Airfield |
| Location: | Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 19°16'56"N by 166°38'12"E |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 23 feet (7 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from AWK |
| More Information: | AWK Maps & Info |
Facts about Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS):
- In addition to being known as "Grissom Air Reserve Base", another name for GUS is "Grissom ARS".
- The 305th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy, provided tanker refueling support to units involved in the invasion of Grenada in October 1983.
- The closest airport to Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Kokomo Municipal Airport (OKK), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of GUS.
- Other organizations located at Grissom ARB include the Civil Air Patrol, Air Force Reserve Command Regional Supply Distribution Center, U.S.
- The furthest airport from Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,184 miles (17,998 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The United States Navy on 1 July 1942 started Naval Air Station Bunker Hill to train Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard pilots.
- Until the retirement of the Space Shuttle on 21 July 2011, Grissom was listed as one of the emergency landing sites due to its 12,000 ft runway
- After World War II, the base area reverted to farming use.
- Strategic Air Command on 1 June 1959 moved the 305th Bombardment Wing, Medium, from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida to Bunker Hill Air Force Base.
Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):
- The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
- The first intention to build an air base surfaced in 1935, when Pan American World Airways selected Wake Island as an intermediate support base for their routes to the Far East, especially the Philippines.
- Another airline that operated into Wake Island was Philippine Airlines with Douglas DC-8 jetliners on a daily westbound service from San Francisco and Honolulu to Manila during the early 1970s.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
- British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
- The furthest airport from Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is located 11,652 miles (18,752 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
- Because of Wake Island Airfield's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Wake Island Airfield 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.
