Nonstop flight route between Homestead, Florida, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST), Homestead, Florida, United States and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,008 miles (or 6,450 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 Homestead Air Reserve Base and Elmendorf 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 Homestead Air Reserve Base and Elmendorf 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 Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST):

• On 1 November 1955, the now-Homestead AFB was upgraded to a group level facility with the activation of the 379th Air Base Group which managed a major construction and rehabilitation program through 1957.
• Homestead Airfield began as a United States Army Air Forces facility on 16 September 1942 when the Army Air Forces assumed control of an isolated airstrip located about a mile inland from the shore of Biscayne Bay.
• The host unit at Homestead is the 482d Fighter Wing assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command's Tenth Air Force.
• The closest airport to Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST) is Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport (TMB), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNW of HST.
• Homestead ARB was established in 1942 as Homestead Army Airfield.
• Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Army Air Forces officials decided the site would better serve defense needs as a maintenance stopover point for aircraft being ferried to the Caribbean and North Africa.
• The furthest airport from Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,568 miles (18,616 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• During this period of time the base was under two commands.
• The 482th Fighter Wing is part of the Air Force Reserve Command and Tenth Air Force and functions as the host wing for the installation.
• The 28th Bomb Squadron converted to the new Boeing B-52H Stratofortress aircraft in 1961, with the remaining squadrons of the 19th being transferred to various SAC Strategic Wings.
• In addition to being known as "Homestead Air Reserve Base", another name for HST is "Homestead ARB".

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• That importance was further recognized when the F-15E Strike Eagle equipped 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reassigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base from Clark Air Base in the Philippines in May 1991.
• On 22 September 1995, a Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne early warning and control aircraft with 22 USAF personnel and two Canadian air crew members crashed after ingesting a flock of Canada Geese, killing all on board.