Nonstop flight route between Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RWI to SYA:
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- About this route
- RWI Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about RWI
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to RWI
- List of Nearest Airports to RWI
- Map of Furthest Airports from RWI
- List of Furthest Airports from RWI
- 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 Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI), Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,953 miles (or 7,970 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 Rocky Mount–Wilson 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 Rocky Mount–Wilson 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: | RWI / KRWI |
Airport Name: | Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport |
Location: | Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°51'23"N by 77°53'30"W |
Area Served: | Rocky Mount / Wilson, North Carolina |
Operator/Owner: | Rocky Mount–Wilson Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 159 feet (48 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RWI |
More Information: | RWI 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 Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI):
- The furthest airport from Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI) is Triangle North Executive Airport (Franklin County Airport) (LFN), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) WNW of RWI.
- Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport (RWI) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 159 feet, planes can take off or land at Rocky Mount–Wilson 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.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- 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.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
- 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.
- 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions 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.
- On 27 January 1992 the 5073rd Air Base Group located at Shemya AFB was re-designated as the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force 673d Air Base Group.
- In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
- In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.