Nonstop flight route between Værøy, Nordland, Norway and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Værøy Heliport (VRY), Værøy, Nordland, Norway and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,065 miles (or 6,542 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 Værøy Heliport 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 Værøy Heliport 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 Værøy Heliport (VRY):

• Værøy Heliport handled 10,210 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Værøy Heliport (VRY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 10,759 miles (17,314 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Værøy Heliport (VRY) is Røst Airport (RET), which is located only 19 miles (30 kilometers) WSW of VRY.
• Because of Værøy Heliport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Værøy Heliport 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.
• Værøy Heliport is located at Tobbisodden, the outer-most point of Kvitvarden near the village of Sørland on the island of Værøy.
• In addition to being known as "Værøy Heliport", another name for VRY is "Værøy helikopterhavn".
• Værøy Heliport is a heliport located at Tobbisodden on the island and municipality of Værøy, Norway, close to the municipal center of Sørland.
• The first aircraft to land in Værøy was a Noorduyn Norseman of the Royal Norwegian Air Force in 1948.
• Proposals for an airport at Værøy and Røst were launched in the late 1960s.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".