Nonstop flight route between Kurgan, Russia and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kurgan Airport (KRO), Kurgan, Russia and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,147 miles (or 6,674 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 Kurgan Airport 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 Kurgan Airport 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 Kurgan Airport (KRO):

• Because of Kurgan Airport's relatively low elevation of 239 feet, planes can take off or land at Kurgan 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.
• Kurgan Airport (KRO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kurgan Airport (KRO) is Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT), which is located 10,719 miles (17,250 kilometers) away in Puerto Natales, Chile.
• The closest airport to Kurgan Airport (KRO) is Roshchino International Airport (TJM), which is located 117 miles (188 kilometers) N of KRO.
• Kurgan Airport handled 64,000 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Kurgan Airport", another name for KRO is "Аэропорт Курган".

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.
• It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, Joint Task Force-Alaska, Eleventh Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.
• 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.
• Air defense forces reached their zenith in 1957 with almost 200 fighter aircraft assigned to six fighter interceptor squadrons located at Elmendorf AFB and Ladd AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S.
• The adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• 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 uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.