Nonstop flight route between Van, Turkey and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN), Van, Turkey and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,274 miles (or 8,488 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 Van Ferit Melen Airport and Ladd Army Airfield, 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 Van Ferit Melen Airport and Ladd Army Airfield. 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 Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN):

• Because of Van Ferit Melen Airport's high elevation of 5,480 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at VAN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make VAN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Van Ferit Melen Airport", another name for VAN is "Ferit Melen Havaalanı".
• Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,369 miles (18,296 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) is Agri Airport (AJI), which is located 84 miles (134 kilometers) N of VAN.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• The airplanes arrived at Ladd were stripped of all but basic instrumentation and armament.
• During 1946-1950, personnel from Ladd laid some of the groundwork of the early Cold War with strategic reconnaissance and Arctic research projects.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The major use of Ladd Field was primarily cold-weather testing of aircraft and equipment.
• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield 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.
• Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.