Nonstop flight route between Houghton Lake, Michigan, United States and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roscommon County - Blodgett Memorial Airport (HTL), Houghton Lake, Michigan, United States and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,732 miles (or 4,398 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 Roscommon County - Blodgett Memorial Airport and Ladd Army 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 Roscommon County - Blodgett Memorial Airport and Ladd Army Airfield. 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 Roscommon County - Blodgett Memorial Airport (HTL):

• Roscommon County - Blodgett Memorial Airport (HTL) has 2 runways.
• Roscommon County – Blodgett Memorial Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located five miles northeast of the central business district of Houghton Lake, an unincorporated community in Roscommon County, Michigan, United States.
• The closest airport to Roscommon County - Blodgett Memorial Airport (HTL) is Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW), which is located 29 miles (46 kilometers) SSE of HTL.
• The furthest airport from Roscommon County - Blodgett Memorial Airport (HTL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,161 miles (17,962 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• When the Air Force was made a separate branch in 1947 the name was changed to Ladd Air Force Base.
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• Ladd Army Airfield is the military airfield located at Fort Jonathan Wainwright, located in Fairbanks, Alaska.
• Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.
• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army 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.