Nonstop flight route between Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan and Galena, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from IWO to GAL:
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- About this route
- IWO Airport Information
- GAL Airport Information
- Facts about IWO
- Facts about GAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to IWO
- List of Nearest Airports to IWO
- Map of Furthest Airports from IWO
- List of Furthest Airports from IWO
- Map of Nearest Airports to GAL
- List of Nearest Airports to GAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from GAL
- List of Furthest Airports from GAL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan and Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL), Galena, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,853 miles (or 6,201 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 and Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport, 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 and Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | IWO / RJAW |
| Airport Name: | Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 |
| Location: | Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan |
| GPS Coordinates: | 24°47'4"N by 141°19'27"E |
| View all routes: | Routes from IWO |
| More Information: | IWO Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GAL / PAGA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Galena, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 64°44'9"N by 156°56'15"W |
| Area Served: | Galena, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 153 feet (47 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GAL |
| More Information: | GAL Maps & Info |
Facts about Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO):
- The furthest airport from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Cabo Frio International Airport (CFB), which is nearly antipodal to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (meaning Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cabo Frio International Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,612 kilometers) away in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Located south and west of the midpoint between Tokyo and Saipan, the island of Iwo Jima was needed by the United States Army Air Forces Twentieth Air Force as an emergency landing facility for its B-29 Superfortress strategic bombing campaign against the Empire of Japan.
- Central Field or Iwo Jima Air Base is a World War II airfield on Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands, located in the Central Pacific.
- At any given time about 350 JSDF personnel are posted to Iwo Jima and though the airfield is strictly for military use, commercial flights carrying Veterans are frequent visitors.
- The closest airport to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Hachijojima Airport (HAC), which is located 583 miles (938 kilometers) N of IWO.
- Central Field was also the headquarters for VII Fighter Command from March 1 – December 1, 1945, along with the intelligence-gathering 41st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron from August though mid-September 1945.
Facts about Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL):
- The airport also sports a ski-jump takeoff ramp at one end and provisions for arresting gear at the other, a leftover from the Cold War years as Galena Air Force Base, as tactical aircraft required more landing and takeoff space than was available on the runway.
- The closest airport to Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is Koyukuk Airport (KYU), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) WNW of GAL.
- Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,313 miles (16,598 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
- As Galena Airport, it was used as a military transport base during World War II, facilitating the transit of Lend-Lease aircraft to the Soviet Union.
- Because of Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport's relatively low elevation of 153 feet, planes can take off or land at Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport 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.
- In addition to being known as "Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport", another name for GAL is "(former Galena Air Force Base)".
