Nonstop flight route between Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heritage Field (PTW), Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,233 miles (or 5,203 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 Heritage Field and Ladd Army Airfield, 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 Heritage Field and Ladd Army Airfield. 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 Heritage Field (PTW):

• Previously known as Pottstown Limerick Airport, the airport was sold in 2009 by its former owner, the Exelon Generation Company, which also owns the nearby Limerick Nuclear Power Plant.
• Heritage Field covers an area of 220 acres at an elevation of 309 feet above mean sea level.
• Heritage Field (PTW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Heritage Field's relatively low elevation of 309 feet, planes can take off or land at Heritage 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.
• This is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation reliever airport.
• The closest airport to Heritage Field (PTW) is Quakertown Airport (UKT), which is located only 16 miles (27 kilometers) NE of PTW.
• The furthest airport from Heritage Field (PTW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,706 miles (18,839 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield 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.
• Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.
• Ladd was not exclusively an Air Force site.
• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The airplanes arrived at Ladd were stripped of all but basic instrumentation and armament.
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• Ferrying and Transport Units