Nonstop flight route between Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ust-Ilimsk (UIK), Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,696 miles (or 4,339 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 Ust-Ilimsk and Eareckson Air Station, 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 Ust-Ilimsk and Eareckson Air Station. 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 Ust-Ilimsk (UIK):

• Ust-Ilimsk (UIK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ust-Ilimsk (UIK) is Ushuaia International Airport (USH), which is nearly antipodal to Ust-Ilimsk (meaning Ust-Ilimsk is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ushuaia International Airport), and is located 12,021 miles (19,346 kilometers) away in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Ust-Ilimsk (UIK) is Bratsk Airport (BTK), which is located 126 miles (203 kilometers) SSW of UIK.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• 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 limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• 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 aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.