Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Grovedale, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Geelong Airport (GEX), Grovedale, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,532 miles (or 10,513 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 Geelong Airport, 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 Geelong Airport. 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):

• 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 "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• 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.

Facts about Geelong Airport (GEX):

• The closest airport to Geelong Airport (GEX) is Avalon Airport (AVV), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) NW of GEX.
• Because of Geelong Airport's relatively low elevation of 140 feet, planes can take off or land at Geelong 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 furthest airport from Geelong Airport (GEX) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Geelong Airport (meaning Geelong Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,178 miles (19,599 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.