Nonstop flight route between McCook, Nebraska, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport (MCK), McCook, Nebraska, United States and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,508 miles (or 4,036 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 McCook Ben Nelson Regional 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 McCook Ben Nelson Regional 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 McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport (MCK):

• McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport (MCK) has 3 runways.
• McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport covers 667 acres at an elevation of 2,583 feet above mean sea level.
• The airport is named after McCook-born Ben Nelson, a United States Senator and the 37th Governor of Nebraska.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 1,848 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,677 in 2009 and 1,993 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport (MCK) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,735 miles (17,276 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport (MCK) is Arapahoe Municipal Airport (AHF), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) ENE of MCK.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• 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 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.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• 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.
• The late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s brought about a gradual, but significant decline in air defense forces in Alaska due to mission changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.
• 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.
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".