Nonstop flight route between Moulins, Allier, France and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU), Moulins, Allier, France and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,590 miles (or 7,388 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 Moulins - Montbeugny Airport and Eielson Air Force Base, 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 Moulins - Montbeugny Airport and Eielson Air Force Base. 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 Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU):

• In addition to being known as "Moulins - Montbeugny Airport", another name for XMU is "Aérodrome de Moulins - Montbeugny".
• Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU) has 3 runways.
• Because of Moulins - Montbeugny Airport's relatively low elevation of 915 feet, planes can take off or land at Moulins - Montbeugny 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.
• The closest airport to Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU) is Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport (CFE), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) SSW of XMU.
• The furthest airport from Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (meaning Moulins - Montbeugny Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,248 miles (19,712 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• The Cold War seen the use of Eielson's expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• A year later, however, Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control.
• Eielson AFB was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field.
• 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.
• In 1984, the 343d Composite Wing was redesignated a Tactical Fighter Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".