Nonstop flight route between Noatak, Alaska, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WTK to SYA:
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- About this route
- WTK Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about WTK
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to WTK
- List of Nearest Airports to WTK
- Map of Furthest Airports from WTK
- List of Furthest Airports from WTK
- 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 Noatak Airport (WTK), Noatak, Alaska, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,278 miles (or 2,056 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 relatively short distance between Noatak Airport and Eareckson Air Station, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WTK / PAWN |
Airport Name: | Noatak Airport |
Location: | Noatak, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 67°33'39"N by 162°58'49"W |
Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 88 feet (27 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WTK |
More Information: | WTK 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 Noatak Airport (WTK):
- Because of Noatak Airport's relatively low elevation of 88 feet, planes can take off or land at Noatak 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.
- Noatak Airport (WTK) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Noatak Airport (WTK) is Kivalina Airport (KVL), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) WNW of WTK.
- The furthest airport from Noatak Airport (WTK) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,321 miles (16,611 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- 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.
- 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 mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
- Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.