Nonstop flight route between Bedford, Indiana, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BFR to FFD:
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- About this route
- BFR Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about BFR
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to BFR
- List of Nearest Airports to BFR
- Map of Furthest Airports from BFR
- List of Furthest Airports from BFR
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR), Bedford, Indiana, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,974 miles (or 6,396 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BFR / KBFR |
Airport Name: | Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport |
Location: | Bedford, Indiana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°50'24"N by 86°26'43"W |
Area Served: | Bedford, Indiana |
Operator/Owner: | Lawrence County BOAC |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 728 feet (222 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BFR |
More Information: | BFR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Facts about Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR):
- The closest airport to Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) is Monroe County Airport (BMG), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NNW of BFR.
- The airport is named in honor of Virgil I.
- Because of Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 728 feet, planes can take off or land at Virgil I. Grissom Municipal 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.
- The furthest airport from Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,195 miles (18,016 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) has 2 runways.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
- The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.