Nonstop flight route between Whiteriver, Arizona, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WTR to SYA:
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- About this route
- WTR Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about WTR
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to WTR
- List of Nearest Airports to WTR
- Map of Furthest Airports from WTR
- List of Furthest Airports from WTR
- 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 Whiteriver Airport (WTR), Whiteriver, Arizona, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,840 miles (or 6,180 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 Whiteriver 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 Whiteriver 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: | WTR / |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Whiteriver, Arizona, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 33°48'38"N by 109°59'8"W |
| Area Served: | Whiteriver, Arizona |
| Operator/Owner: | White Mountain Apache Tribe |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5153 feet (1,571 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WTR |
| More Information: | WTR 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 Whiteriver Airport (WTR):
- Whiteriver Airport (WTR) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Whiteriver Airport's high elevation of 5,153 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WTR. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WTR a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Whiteriver Airport (WTR) is Show Low Regional Airport (SOW), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) N of WTR.
- In addition to being known as "Whiteriver Airport", another name for WTR is "E24".
- The furthest airport from Whiteriver Airport (WTR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,383 miles (18,320 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
- A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
- 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 station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
- There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
- 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.
- The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
