Nonstop flight route between West Yellowstone, Montana, United States and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WYS to EIL:
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- About this route
- WYS Airport Information
- EIL Airport Information
- Facts about WYS
- Facts about EIL
- Map of Nearest Airports to WYS
- List of Nearest Airports to WYS
- Map of Furthest Airports from WYS
- List of Furthest Airports from WYS
- Map of Nearest Airports to EIL
- List of Nearest Airports to EIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from EIL
- List of Furthest Airports from EIL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Yellowstone Airport (WYS), West Yellowstone, Montana, United States and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,944 miles (or 3,129 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 relatively short distance between Yellowstone Airport and Eielson Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WYS / KWYS |
| Airport Name: | Yellowstone Airport |
| Location: | West Yellowstone, Montana, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 44°41'17"N by 111°7'4"W |
| Area Served: | West Yellowstone, Montana |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Montana |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6649 feet (2,027 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WYS |
| More Information: | WYS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | EIL / PAEI |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Fairbanks, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 64°39'56"N by 147°6'5"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from EIL |
| More Information: | EIL Maps & Info |
Facts about Yellowstone Airport (WYS):
- As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 4,186 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 4,331 enplanements in 2009, and 4,451 in 2010.
- West Yellowstone jumpers and tanker are considered national resources.
- Because of Yellowstone Airport's high elevation of 6,649 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WYS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WYS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Yellowstone Airport (WYS) is Dubois Municipal Airport (DBS), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of WYS.
- Yellowstone Airport (WYS) currently has only 1 runway.
- During the summer the base is home to 21 smokejumpers, pilots for the jump plane and retardant tanker, an office manager and a tanker base manager.
- The town of West Yellowstone is located at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
- The furthest airport from Yellowstone Airport (WYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,685 miles (17,196 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):
- The 6th SW remained at Eielson AFB until 1992.
- The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
- The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
- The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- The 720th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, equipped with F-86 Sabres, was deployed to Eielson during 1954–55.
- On 1 December 1947 Strategic Air Command B-29 Superfortress bombers arrived at 26-Mile Airfield with the deployment of the 97th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, from Smoky Hill AFB, Kansas.
- In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
- On 7 June 1943, the Western Defense Command ordered construction of a new airfield near present-day Fort Wainwright, then an Army airfield named after Major Arthur Ladd.
