Nonstop flight route between Orange City, Iowa, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC), Orange City, Iowa, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,942 miles (or 6,344 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 Orange City 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 Orange City 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 Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC):

• Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC) is Le Mars Municipal Airport (LRJ), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSW of ORC.
• The furthest airport from Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,651 miles (17,141 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.
• 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.
• 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.
• In August 1988, at least one Aries rocket was launched, relating to the Queen Match program, for anti-ballistic missile testing.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".