Nonstop flight route between Orange, France and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG), Orange, France and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,714 miles (or 9,197 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 Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) 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 Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) 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 Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG):

• Because of Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115)'s relatively low elevation of 197 feet, planes can take off or land at Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) 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.
• Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (meaning Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,367 miles (19,903 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115)", another name for XOG is "Base aérienne 115 Orange-Caritat "Capitaine de Seyne"".
• The closest airport to Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG) is Avignon - Caumont Airport (AVN), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of XOG.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out 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.