Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Abilene, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to DYS:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- DYS Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about DYS
- 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 DYS
- List of Nearest Airports to DYS
- Map of Furthest Airports from DYS
- List of Furthest Airports from DYS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), Abilene, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,815 miles (or 7,748 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 Dyess Air Force Base, 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 Dyess Air Force Base. 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: | DYS / KDYS |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Abilene, Texas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°25'14"N by 99°51'16"W |
View all routes: | Routes from DYS |
More Information: | DYS Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
- 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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- 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 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 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.
Facts about Dyess Air Force Base (DYS):
- The furthest airport from Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,080 miles (17,831 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The 96th Bombardment Wing moved to Dyess on 8 September 1957 and for a few years worked alongside the 341st.
- In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces built Tye Army Air Field, as it was popularly known, on the site of what is now known as Dyess AFB.
- Dyess' first active combat unit was the 341st Bombardment Wing, which activated on 1 September 1955.
- The closest airport to Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DYS.
- In June 1985, the 96th received its first B-1B Lancer replacing the B-52 Stratofortress and in October 1986, assumed nuclear alert status.
- The 317th Airlift Group, an Air Mobility Command tenant unit, performs Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules airlift missions with 28 aircraft assigned.
- The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force.
- In addition to being known as "Dyess Air Force Base", another name for DYS is "Dyess AFB".