Nonstop flight route between Marfa, Texas, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF), Marfa, Texas, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,254 miles (or 6,846 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 Marfa Municipal 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 Marfa Municipal 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 Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF):

• Because of Marfa Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,849 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MRF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MRF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Marfa Gliders offers sailplane flight training and glider rides throughout the year and hosts a soaring camp in spring.
• Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,361 miles (18,283 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• For the 12-month period ending April 23, 2007, the airport had 15,000 aircraft operations, an average of 41 per day, all of which were general aviation.
• The closest airport to Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF) is Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of MRF.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.