Nonstop flight route between Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Jacksonville (NIP), Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,690 miles (or 5,939 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 NAS Jacksonville 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 NAS Jacksonville 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 NAS Jacksonville (NIP):

• During the late 1940s, the jet age was dawning and in 1948 the Navy’s first jet carrier air groups and squadrons came to NAS Jacksonville.
• In March 1959, Marine Attack Squadron ONE FOUR TWO of the Marine Corps Reserve relocated to NAS Jacksonville from the closing MCAS Miami, along with the associated Marine Air Reserve Training Detachment.
• Prior to the commissioning, on September 7, Commander Jimmy Grant became the first pilot to land on the still unfinished runway in his N3N-3 biplane.
• The United States Air Force Air Defense Command established a Phase III Mobile Radar station at NAS Jacksonville in 1 July 1957 with the 679th Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron operating AN/FPS-3, AN/FPS-8, and AN/MPS-14 radars as part of the ADC radar network.
• The closest airport to NAS Jacksonville (NIP) is Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (CRG), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NE of NIP.
• Because of NAS Jacksonville's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Jacksonville 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.
• By the mid-1950s, with the station's continuing growth, the Navy was having a tremendous impact on the economic growth in the Jacksonville and Duval County area.
• Today, 23,000 civilian and active-duty personnel are employed on the base.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Jacksonville", another name for NIP is "Towers Field".
• The furthest airport from NAS Jacksonville (NIP) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,460 miles (18,444 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• NAS Jacksonville (NIP) has 2 runways.
• In 1970, a major reorganization of the Naval Reserve resulted in three separate Naval Air Reserve flying squadrons, identical to their active duty Regular Navy counterparts, being activated at NAS Jacksonville.

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 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.
• A section of the airport is built over the closed Merrill Field Land Fill.
• The offices of the Alaska Dispatch, parent company of the Anchorage Daily News, are located on Merrill Field.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.