Nonstop flight route between Reedsville, Pennsylvania, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mifflin County Airport (RED), Reedsville, Pennsylvania, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,698 miles (or 7,561 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 Mifflin County 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 Mifflin County 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 Mifflin County Airport (RED):

• Because of Mifflin County Airport's relatively low elevation of 819 feet, planes can take off or land at Mifflin County Airport 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 airport covers 125 acres at an elevation of 819 feet.
• Mifflin County Airport (RED) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mifflin County Airport (RED) is University Park Airport (SCE), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) NW of RED.
• In addition to being known as "Mifflin County Airport", another name for RED is "RVL".
• There is an AWOS-3 on the field.
• The furthest airport from Mifflin County Airport (RED) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,598 miles (18,664 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Mifflin County Airport is a popular site for gliding competitions and has hosted 10 national championships and four regional championships since 1990.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• 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.
• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".