Nonstop flight route between Madison, Wisconsin, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dane County Regional Airport (MSN), Madison, Wisconsin, United States and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,724 miles (or 4,384 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 Dane County 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 Dane County 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 Dane County Regional Airport (MSN):

• Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Dane County Regional Airport", another name for MSN is "Truax Field".
• A 31,000 square foot terminal building was built on the west side of the airfield.
• Because of Dane County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 887 feet, planes can take off or land at Dane County Regional 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.
• Dane County Regional Airport handled 1,615,841 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) is Dodge County Airport (UNU), which is located 38 miles (60 kilometers) ENE of MSN.
• The furthest airport from Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,978 miles (17,667 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• Despite a diminished number of personnel and aircraft, a turning point in Elmendorf's history occurred in 1970 with the arrival of the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron in June 1970 from MacDill AFB, Florida.
• 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 uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.