Nonstop flight route between Salem, Oregon, United States and Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SLE to AWK:
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- About this route
- SLE Airport Information
- AWK Airport Information
- Facts about SLE
- Facts about AWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to SLE
- List of Nearest Airports to SLE
- Map of Furthest Airports from SLE
- List of Furthest Airports from SLE
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWK
- List of Nearest Airports to AWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWK
- List of Furthest Airports from AWK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between McNary Field (SLE), Salem, Oregon, United States and Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,336 miles (or 6,978 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 McNary Field and Wake Island Airfield, 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 McNary Field and Wake Island Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SLE / KSLE |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Salem, Oregon, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°54'33"N by 123°0'8"W |
Area Served: | Salem, Oregon |
Operator/Owner: | City of Salem |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 214 feet (65 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SLE |
More Information: | SLE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AWK / PWAK |
Airport Name: | Wake Island Airfield |
Location: | Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°16'56"N by 166°38'12"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 23 feet (7 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from AWK |
More Information: | AWK Maps & Info |
Facts about McNary Field (SLE):
- Because of McNary Field's relatively low elevation of 214 feet, planes can take off or land at McNary Field 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 "McNary Field", another name for SLE is "Salem Municipal AirportSalem Army Airfield".
- The closest airport to McNary Field (SLE) is Corvallis Municipal Airport (CVO), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) SSW of SLE.
- The furthest airport from McNary Field (SLE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,954 miles (17,628 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- McNary Field (SLE) has 2 runways.
- The Oregon Army National Guard - Army Aviation Support Facility and charter flights also use the facilities.
Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):
- The first intention to build an air base surfaced in 1935, when Pan American World Airways selected Wake Island as an intermediate support base for their routes to the Far East, especially the Philippines.
- The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
- Because of Wake Island Airfield's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Wake Island Airfield 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 furthest airport from Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is located 11,652 miles (18,752 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
- British Overseas Airways Corporation also used Wake Island as a refueling stop.
- Japan Airlines used both Wake Island and Honolulu as stops on its initial Tokyo-San Francisco service using Douglas DC-6s in the mid-1950s.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
- From 1935 until 1940, when two typhoons swept Wake with resultant extensive damage to the now elaborately developed Pan American facilities, development and use of the base were steady but uneventful.