Nonstop flight route between Gainesville, Georgia, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GVL to SYA:
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- About this route
- GVL Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about GVL
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GVL
- List of Nearest Airports to GVL
- Map of Furthest Airports from GVL
- List of Furthest Airports from GVL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL), Gainesville, Georgia, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,830 miles (or 7,774 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 Lee Gilmer Memorial 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 Lee Gilmer Memorial 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GVL / KGVL |
| Airport Name: | Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport |
| Location: | Gainesville, Georgia, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°16'21"N by 83°49'49"W |
| Area Served: | Gainesville, Georgia |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Gainesville |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 1276 feet (389 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GVL |
| More Information: | GVL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
| More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL):
- Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL) is Barrow County Airport (WDR), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SSE of GVL.
- The furthest airport from Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,355 miles (18,274 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- On 27 January 1992 the 5073rd Air Base Group located at Shemya AFB was re-designated as the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force 673d Air Base Group.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
