Nonstop flight route between Beckley, West Virginia, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BKW to SYA:
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- About this route
- BKW Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about BKW
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BKW
- List of Nearest Airports to BKW
- Map of Furthest Airports from BKW
- List of Furthest Airports from BKW
- 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 Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW), Beckley, West Virginia, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,737 miles (or 7,624 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 Raleigh County Memorial 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 Raleigh County Memorial 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: | BKW / KBKW |
Airport Name: | Raleigh County Memorial Airport |
Location: | Beckley, West Virginia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°47'13"N by 81°7'27"W |
Area Served: | Beckley, West Virginia |
Operator/Owner: | Raleigh County Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2504 feet (763 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BKW |
More Information: | BKW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
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 Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW):
- The closest airport to Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) is Mercer County Airport (BLF), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) S of BKW.
- The furthest airport from Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,491 miles (18,494 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) has 2 runways.
- In 2005, the airport was the least busy airport with scheduled airline service in the United States, with 2,578 passengers using the facility that year.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- 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 limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
- With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
- 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 July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
- A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
- Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.