Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Modesto, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Modesto City-County Airport (MOD), Modesto, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,209 miles (or 5,165 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 Modesto City-County 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 Modesto City-County 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):

• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• 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.

Facts about Modesto City-County Airport (MOD):

• The closest airport to Modesto City-County Airport (MOD) is NASA Crows Landing Airport (NRC), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of MOD.
• In addition to being known as "Modesto City-County Airport", other names for MOD include "Harry Sham Field" and "Modesto Auxiliary Airfield".
• The furthest airport from Modesto City-County Airport (MOD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,208 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Modesto City-County Airport (MOD) has 2 runways.
• Scheduled passenger flights started in 1946 when United Airlines opened its new terminal and began the Valley Queen service.
• Because of Modesto City-County Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Modesto City-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.
• In mid-2006 United Express/SkyWest Airlines added four flights a day to/from LAX and a flight to SFO to total 5 flights a day to San Francisco.