Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Cognac / Châteaubernard, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG), Cognac / Châteaubernard, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,632 miles (or 9,064 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 Eareckson Air Station and Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base, 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 Eareckson Air Station and Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base. 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 Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
• On 27 January 1992 the 5073rd Air Base Group located at Shemya AFB was re-designated as the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force 673d Air Base Group.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.

Facts about Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG):

• The closest airport to Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG) is Angoulême - Brie - Champniers Airport (ANG), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) E of CNG.
• Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG) has 2 runways.
• Because of Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base's relatively low elevation of 102 feet, planes can take off or land at Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base 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.
• In addition to being known as "Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base", another name for CNG is "Base aérienne 709 Cognac-Châteaubernard".
• The furthest airport from Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base (meaning Cognac - Châteaubernard Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,208 miles (19,647 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.