Nonstop flight route between Miles, Queensland, Australia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WLE to SYA:
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- About this route
- WLE Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about WLE
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to WLE
- List of Nearest Airports to WLE
- Map of Furthest Airports from WLE
- List of Furthest Airports from WLE
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Miles Airport (WLE), Miles, Queensland, Australia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,681 miles (or 9,143 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 Miles Airport 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 Miles Airport and Eareckson Air Station. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WLE / |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Miles, Queensland, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 26°48'33"S by 150°9'53"E |
| Area Served: | Miles, Queensland, Australia |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 1492 feet (455 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WLE |
| More Information: | WLE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
| More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Miles Airport (WLE):
- The furthest airport from Miles Airport (WLE) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,707 miles (18,841 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
- The closest airport to Miles Airport (WLE) is Chincilla Airport (CCL), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) E of WLE.
- In addition to being known as "Miles Airport", another name for WLE is "YMLS".
- Miles Airport (WLE) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- 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.
- The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
- In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
