Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Montgomery, Alabama, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF), Montgomery, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,839 miles (or 7,788 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 Maxwell Air Force 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 Maxwell Air Force 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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.
• 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.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.

Facts about Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF):

• Maxwell Air Force Base, officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force installation under the Air Education and Training Command.
• Gunter Annex is a separate installation under the 42 ABW.
• The furthest airport from Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,193 miles (18,013 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF) is Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of MXF.
• On September 17, 1931, the first ACTS training occurred at Maxwell Field.
• Toward the end of February 1910, the Wright Brothers decided to open one of the world's earliest flying schools at the site that would subsequently become Maxwell AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Maxwell Air Force Base", another name for MXF is "Maxwell AFB".
• The depot's first official flying mission was carried out after that.
• Maxwell Field, as most Army air stations and depots developed during World War I, was on leased properties with temporary buildings being the mainstay of construction.