Nonstop flight route between Grafton, New South Wales, Australia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFN to SYA:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- GFN Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about GFN
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFN
- List of Nearest Airports to GFN
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFN
- List of Furthest Airports from GFN
- 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 Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN), Grafton, New South Wales, Australia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,839 miles (or 9,396 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 Clarence Valley Regional 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 Clarence Valley Regional 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: | GFN / YGFN |
Airport Name: | Clarence Valley Regional Airport |
Location: | Grafton, New South Wales, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°45'36"S by 153°1'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | Clarence Valley Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 110 feet (34 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GFN |
More Information: | GFN 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 Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN):
- The furthest airport from Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 11,928 miles (19,196 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
- Because of Clarence Valley Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 110 feet, planes can take off or land at Clarence Valley Regional 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.
- Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN) is Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) S of GFN.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
- 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.
- Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
- Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.