Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Big Mountain, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to BMX:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- BMX Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about BMX
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to BMX
- List of Nearest Airports to BMX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BMX
- List of Furthest Airports from BMX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX), Big Mountain, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,622 miles (or 7,439 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 RAF Fairford and Big Mountain Air Force 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 RAF Fairford and Big Mountain Air Force Station. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BMX / PABM |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Big Mountain, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 59°21'39"N by 155°15'32"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 663 feet (202 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BMX |
More Information: | BMX Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
- 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 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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
Facts about Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX):
- Because of Big Mountain Air Force Station's relatively low elevation of 663 feet, planes can take off or land at Big Mountain Air Force 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.
- The closest airport to Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX) is Kokhanok Airport (KNK), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of BMX.
- In addition to being known as "Big Mountain Air Force Station", another name for BMX is "37AK".
- The furthest airport from Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,683 miles (17,193 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Big Mountain Air Force Station (BMX) currently has only 1 runway.