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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport (MCK), McCook, Nebraska, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,906 miles (or 6,285 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 Eareckson Air Station, 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 Eareckson Air Station. 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):

• Air Midwest began service on October 29, 2006, with two daily flights to Grand Island and on to Omaha Eppley Airfield and Kansas City International Airport.
• 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.
• During World War II an even larger training airfield was built some eight miles north of McCook Regional to train heavy bomber crews.
• 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.
• McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport (MCK) has 3 runways.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station 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 aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.