Nonstop flight route between Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pincher Creek Airport (WPC), Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,994 miles (or 4,818 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 Pincher Creek 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 Pincher Creek 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Pincher Creek Airport (WPC):

• Pincher Creek Airport (WPC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Pincher Creek Airport (WPC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,460 miles (16,834 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Pincher Creek Airport (WPC) is Cowley Airport (YYM), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NNW of WPC.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.