Nonstop flight route between Norfolk, Virginia, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), Norfolk, Virginia, United States and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,490 miles (or 5,617 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 Naval Station Norfolk 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 Naval Station Norfolk 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 Naval Station Norfolk (NGU):

• The furthest airport from Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,762 miles (18,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Station Norfolk", another name for NGU is "Chambers Field".
• The increased pace of operations made it necessary to further physical plant growth.
• The Hepburn Board had made recommendations to Congress earlier in the year that would also double the size and workload of the station.
• Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• NAS Norfolk started its roots training aviators at Naval Air Detachment, Curtiss Field, Newport News, on May 19, 1917.
• The closest airport to Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ESE of NGU.
• As World War I came to an end, the former NAS Hampton Roads saw erratic growth, growing to nearly 167 officers, 1,227 enlisted men and 65 planes.

Facts about Merrill Field (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.
• 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.
• Merrill Field, located on the east end of 5th Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, was the only airport serving Anchorage until 1951 when the introduction of ever larger and faster commercial aircraft required that an airfield with longer and heavier runways be built.
• For 12-month period ending August 5, 2004, the airport had 191,550 aircraft operations, an average of 524 per day, 100% of which were general aviation.
• 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 (MRI) has 3 runways.
• 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.