Nonstop flight route between Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BWH to EDF:
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- About this route
- BWH Airport Information
- EDF Airport Information
- Facts about BWH
- Facts about EDF
- Map of Nearest Airports to BWH
- List of Nearest Airports to BWH
- Map of Furthest Airports from BWH
- List of Furthest Airports from BWH
- Map of Nearest Airports to EDF
- List of Nearest Airports to EDF
- Map of Furthest Airports from EDF
- List of Furthest Airports from EDF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RMAF Butterworth (BWH), Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,530 miles (or 10,509 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 RMAF Butterworth and Elmendorf 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 RMAF Butterworth and Elmendorf Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BWH / WMKB |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia |
GPS Coordinates: | 5°27'57"N by 100°23'27"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence (Malaysia) |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 8 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BWH |
More Information: | BWH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | EDF / PAED |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Anchorage, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 61°15'5"N by 149°48'23"W |
View all routes: | Routes from EDF |
More Information: | EDF Maps & Info |
Facts about RMAF Butterworth (BWH):
- Because of RMAF Butterworth's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at RMAF Butterworth 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 RMAF Butterworth (BWH) is RMAF Butterworth (UTE), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of BWH.
- In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", another name for BWH is "TUDM Butterworth".
- During the Malayan Emergency that was to last from 1948 to 1960, RAF as well as RAAF and RNZAF units stationed at the airfield played an active role from 1950 in helping to curb the communist insurgency in the jungles of Malaya by attacking suspected hideouts and harassing the communist guerrillas.
- On 30 June 1988, the airfield was handed over by RAAF to the Royal Malaysian Air Force and was renamed as RMAF Station Butterworth.
- RMAF Butterworth (BWH) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (BWH) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to RMAF Butterworth (meaning RMAF Butterworth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):
- On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
- On 28 July 2010, a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft practicing for an upcoming airshow crashed into a wooded area within the base, killing all four air crew members.
- The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
- The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
- The late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s brought about a gradual, but significant decline in air defense forces in Alaska due to mission changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.
- The adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
- Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.
- In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".