Sondrestrom to Elmendorf

Nine hours thirty-one minutes is one of the longest non-stop flights I ever made as a pilot. It also might have been my most lucrative day in aviation. My Air Force squadron flew C-130s from Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage to supply radar stations along the Arctic circle. A permanent detachment with at least two aircraft and crews was based at Sondrestrom Air Base on the west coast of Greenland. One crew "rotated" every week.

Starting from Sondrestrom and ending at Elmendorf, this flight was 2350 nautical miles. Not very far by today's standards but nine hours in a C-130 is a lot diffe...