Nonstop flight route between Laurel, Mississippi, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hesler-Noble Field (LUL), Laurel, Mississippi, United States and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,360 miles (or 5,407 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 Hesler-Noble Field and Merrill Field, 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 Hesler-Noble Field and Merrill Field. 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 Hesler-Noble Field (LUL):

• Alarmed by the fall of France in June 1940, Congress funded an increase from 29 to 54 combat groups in the United States Army Air Corps.
• In addition to being known as "Hesler-Noble Field", another name for LUL is "(former Laurel Army Airfield)".
• Hesler-Noble Field returned to being a civil airport.
• In Mid-1943 Laurel AAF's mission changed to training medium and light bomber crews and photo reconnaissance units for deployment overseas.
• Because of Hesler-Noble Field's relatively low elevation of 238 feet, planes can take off or land at Hesler-Noble Field 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.
• The furthest airport from Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,037 miles (17,763 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) is Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport (PIB), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of LUL.
• Initially, the mission of the new Air Force field was to fly antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico, with the 69th Observation Group flying the from November 1942 until March 1943.
• Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large apron and a control tower.

Facts about Merrill Field (MRI):

• The furthest airport from Merrill Field (MRI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,545 miles (16,970 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S.
• The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.
• Because of Merrill Field's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Merrill Field 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.
• A section of the airport is built over the closed Merrill Field Land Fill.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• The airstrip is still in use today as the primary field for private wheel equipped aircraft in the warmer months and for ski equipped in the winter.