Nonstop flight route between Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,308 miles (or 5,323 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 Hickory Regional Airport and Eielson Air Force Base, 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 Hickory Regional Airport and Eielson Air Force Base. 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 Hickory Regional Airport (HKY):

• The furthest airport from Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,494 miles (18,499 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The Hickory Municipal Airport was first opened to aircraft traffic on May 17, 1940.
• While not currently served by any commercial airline, the Hickory Regional Airport has had such service for much of its history.
• The airport terminal building, which was built in 1960, has served as a hub for commerce and transportation for more than 40 years.
• In the early part of 1969, a new High Intensity Lighting system was installed on runway 6/24 as well as lighting on the parallel taxiway.
• The closest airport to Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Foothills Regional Airport (MRN), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HKY.
• Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) has 2 runways.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• On 20 August 1993, the 354 FW replaced the 343d Wing.
• The 375th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, from the 308th Bombardment Group at Tinker AFB Oklahoma, arrived at Eielson on 5 March 1949.
• Operational uses of Mile 26 were few.
• The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
• The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• Eielson AFB was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field.
• The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The Cold War seen the use of Eielson's expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U.S.
• The base reopened in September 1946, once again as a satellite of Ladd Field.
• The 58th Weather Squadron remained at Eielson until 8 August 1958.