Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Smithton, Tasmania, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to SIO:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- SIO Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about SIO
- 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 SIO
- List of Nearest Airports to SIO
- Map of Furthest Airports from SIO
- List of Furthest Airports from SIO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Smithton Airport (SIO), Smithton, Tasmania, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,706 miles (or 17,229 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 Smithton Airport, 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 Smithton Airport. 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: | SIO / YSMI |
Airport Name: | Smithton Airport |
Location: | Smithton, Tasmania, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°50'6"S by 145°4'59"E |
Operator/Owner: | DIER |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 31 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SIO |
More Information: | SIO Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
- Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
Facts about Smithton Airport (SIO):
- Because of Smithton Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Smithton 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 closest airport to Smithton Airport (SIO) is Burnie Airport (BWT), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) ESE of SIO.
- Smithton Airport (SIO) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Smithton Airport (SIO) is Corvo Airport (CVU), which is nearly antipodal to Smithton Airport (meaning Smithton Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corvo Airport), and is located 12,221 miles (19,667 kilometers) away in Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal.