Nonstop flight route between Decatur, Alabama, United States and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DCU to NHT:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- DCU Airport Information
- NHT Airport Information
- Facts about DCU
- Facts about NHT
- Map of Nearest Airports to DCU
- List of Nearest Airports to DCU
- Map of Furthest Airports from DCU
- List of Furthest Airports from DCU
- Map of Nearest Airports to NHT
- List of Nearest Airports to NHT
- Map of Furthest Airports from NHT
- List of Furthest Airports from NHT
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), Decatur, Alabama, United States and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,253 miles (or 6,845 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 Pryor Field Regional Airport and RAF Northolt, 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 Pryor Field Regional Airport and RAF Northolt. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DCU / KDCU |
Airport Name: | Pryor Field Regional Airport |
Location: | Decatur, Alabama, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°39'15"N by 86°56'43"W |
Area Served: | Decatur, Alabama |
Operator/Owner: | Decatur/Athens Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 592 feet (180 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DCU |
More Information: | DCU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NHT / EGWU |
Airport Name: | RAF Northolt |
Location: | Ruislip, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°33'11"N by 0°25'5"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from NHT |
More Information: | NHT Maps & Info |
Facts about Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU):
- The furthest airport from Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,180 miles (17,992 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- In January 2010, the pilot training site was designated a historic landmark and added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
- The Pryor Field Regional Airport receives $30,000 annually each from the cities of Athens and Decatur and from the county commissions of Morgan and Limestone
- Because of Pryor Field Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 592 feet, planes can take off or land at Pryor Field 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.
- Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) is Huntsville International Airport (HSV), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DCU.
- A newly built $1.8 million terminal building opened in 2008 at the north end of the field as part of a federally funded $3.3 million project.
Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):
- Following Louis Blériot's first flight across the English Channel in 1909, the British Army considered the necessity of defending the United Kingdom from a future air attack.
- Thirty Allied airmen including servicemen from Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Poland and the United Kingdom were killed flying from RAF Northolt during the Battle of Britain, of whom ten were Polish.
- Northolt became an active base during the Second World War for Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force squadrons in their defence of the United Kingdom.
- Attention was high again in 2001 when Ronnie Biggs, the seriously ill, fugitive Great Train Robber, was flown from Brazil to the airfield to be arrested by waiting police officers.
- Construction of the new aerodrome, to be named "RFC Military School, Ruislip", began in January 1915.
- On 1 June 1960, an Avro Anson aircraft suffered engine failure soon after take-off from Northolt and crash-landed on top of the nearby Express Dairies plant in South Ruislip.
- The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
- The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The remains of a Hawker Hurricane flown by Flying Officer Ludwik Witold Paszkiewicz, the first pilot in No. 303 Squadron to shoot down an enemy aircraft, were donated to the station in June 2008.