Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Kinloss Barracks (FSS), Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,810 miles (or 7,742 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 Kinloss Barracks, 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 Kinloss Barracks. 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):

• 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 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.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.

Facts about Kinloss Barracks (FSS):

• Throughout the majority of the war 19 Operational Training Unit was the primary training unit.
• The closest airport to Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is RAF Lossiemouth (LMO), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ENE of FSS.
• In November 1980 two pilots, Royal Australian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Noel Anthony and RAF Flying Officer Stephen Belcher were killed when their aircraft struck birds on take off and crashed in woods to the east of Kinloss airfield.
• Kinloss Barracks (FSS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,616 miles (18,694 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a training establishment during the Second World War.
• In December 2009, the MOD announced the premature retirement of the Nimrod MR2 by March 2010 and that the introduction of the Nimrod MRA4 would be delayed to 2012.
• Because of Kinloss Barracks's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kinloss Barracks 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.