Nonstop flight route between Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vivigani Airport (VIV), Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,836 miles (or 9,392 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 Vivigani Airport and Elmendorf 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 Vivigani Airport and Elmendorf 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 Vivigani Airport (VIV):

• The airfield was used by both the 5th Air Force and the RAAF.
• Vivigani Airfield was an airstrip at Vivigani on Goodenough Island, part of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Papua New Guinea.
• The closest airport to Vivigani Airport (VIV) is Gurney Airport (GUR), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) S of VIV.
• The Australian 2/12th Battalion reached Vivigani on 27 October 1942, occupying the island after defeating the Imperial Japanese troops marooned on the island during World War II.
• The furthest airport from Vivigani Airport (VIV) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,915 miles (19,176 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• The adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, Joint Task Force-Alaska, Eleventh Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.
• The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Despite a diminished number of personnel and aircraft, a turning point in Elmendorf's history occurred in 1970 with the arrival of the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron in June 1970 from MacDill AFB, Florida.
• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• On 16 November 2010, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took off for a training mission.