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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Oceana (NTU), Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,506 miles (or 5,643 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 Air Station Oceana 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 Air Station Oceana 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 Air Station Oceana (NTU):

• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Oceana (NTU) is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) WNW of NTU.
• Tomcat training was conducted by VF-101 Grim Reapers.
• Plans by the Navy to construct an outlying landing field supporting both NAS Oceana and MCAS Cherry Point in eastern North Carolina, initiated in 2006, met with fierce opposition by local residents and environmentalists.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Oceana", another name for NTU is "Apollo Soucek Field".
• During the 2005 round of BRAC base closures, it was decided that NAS Oceana could remain open only if certain conditions were met.
• Naval Air Station Oceana (NTU) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Oceana (NTU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,779 miles (18,956 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Under the Navy's Master Jet Base concept, all Type/Model/Series aircraft were homebased at one field with associated intermediate maintenance and training facilities.

Facts about Merrill Field (MRI):

• This was the first official airport in Anchorage when it opened in 1930.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.
• 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.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• The offices of the Alaska Dispatch, parent company of the Anchorage Daily News, are located on Merrill Field.
• 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.