Nonstop flight route between Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from CIU to FFD:
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- About this route
- CIU Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about CIU
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to CIU
- List of Nearest Airports to CIU
- Map of Furthest Airports from CIU
- List of Furthest Airports from CIU
- 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 Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,564 miles (or 5,736 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 Chippewa County International 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 Chippewa County International 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: | CIU / KCIU |
Airport Name: | Chippewa County International Airport |
Location: | Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°15'2"N by 84°28'20"W |
Area Served: | Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan |
Operator/Owner: | Chippewa County EDC |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 799 feet (244 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from CIU |
More Information: | CIU 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 Chippewa County International Airport (CIU):
- Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) has 2 runways.
- As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 13,269 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 13,173 in 2009, and 14,349 in 2010.
- The furthest airport from Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) is Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of CIU.
- Because of Chippewa County International Airport's relatively low elevation of 799 feet, planes can take off or land at Chippewa County International 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 RAF Fairford (FFD):
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- 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.
- 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.
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
- 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.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.