Nonstop flight route between Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moody Air Force Base (VAD), Valdosta, Georgia, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,032 miles (or 8,098 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 Moody Air Force Base 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 Moody Air Force Base 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 Moody Air Force Base (VAD):

• The furthest airport from Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Kalbarri Airport (KAX), which is located 11,363 miles (18,286 kilometers) away in Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia.
• Following the end of the war, activity at Moody diminished to the point that 24 of the 93 A-26s had to be placed in flyable storage.
• To inject more realism into the training, ATC made arrangements with Strategic Air Command to allow instructor pilots to fly intercept missions against SAC bombers with F-86D Sabre, With the addition of interceptor crew training and the acquisition of interceptor aircraft, HQ USAF decided effective 20 October 1953 to assign ATC responsibility for supporting Air Defense Command's interceptor forces.
• In 1965, the Cessna T-41A, a four-seat, single-engine, propeller-driven training aircraft based on the Cessna 172 arrived at Moody and was used in the initial phases of student training.
• The 93d Air Ground Operations Wing is a non-flying active support wing activated on 25 January 2008.
• The closest airport to Moody Air Force Base (VAD) is Valdosta Regional AirportValdosta Army Auxiliary Airfield (VLD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) SSW of VAD.
• Moody AFB is the home of the 23d Wing of the Air Combat Command.
• On 1 December 1975, the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, a unit of the Tactical Air Command, relocated to Moody from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand.
• In addition to being known as "Moody Air Force Base", another name for VAD is "Moody AFB".

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".