Nonstop flight route between Port Bergé, Madagascar and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Bergé Airport (WPB), Port Bergé, Madagascar and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,959 miles (or 14,418 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 Port Bergé 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 Port Bergé 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 Port Bergé Airport (WPB):

• In addition to being known as "Port Bergé Airport", another name for WPB is "FMMG".
• The furthest airport from Port Bergé Airport (WPB) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 10,982 miles (17,674 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
• The closest airport to Port Bergé Airport (WPB) is Analalava Airport (HVA), which is located 67 miles (107 kilometers) N of WPB.
• Because of Port Bergé Airport's relatively low elevation of 213 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Bergé Airport 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.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• Weather and Testing Units
• Ferrying and Transport Units
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
• 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.
• From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska.
• 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.
• Ladd was not exclusively an Air Force site.
• Ice fog became a problem for airplanes landing at the field.
• 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.
• When the Air Force was made a separate branch in 1947 the name was changed to Ladd Air Force Base.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".