Nonstop flight route between Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Mbandaka Airport (MDK), Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,749 miles (or 6,033 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 Lyneham and Mbandaka 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 Lyneham and Mbandaka Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Lyneham (LYE):

• Because of RAF Lyneham's relatively low elevation of 512 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Lyneham 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 airfield was built in 1939, necessitating the demolition of Lyneham Court manor house, the buildings of Cranley Farm and the village's tennis courts.
• With the increase in air transport operations in the RAF, as opposed to ferrying, Transport Command was formed in March 1943.
• A single enemy aircraft attacked the station on 19 September 1940, dropping an incendiary and two high explosive bombs before strafing part of the airfield.
• The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.
• With the transfer of military units and personnel to Brize Norton complete, around 1,000 members of military and civilian staff remained on site, gradually reducing in numbers until RAF Lyneham closes entirely, on 31 December 2012.
• Lyneham's first runways were constructed during 1940 and 1941, the longest being 4,375 ft, the other 3,542 ft.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lyneham (LYE) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,913 miles (19,172 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.

Facts about Mbandaka Airport (MDK):

• In addition to being known as "Mbandaka Airport", other names for MDK include "Aéroport de Mbandaka" and "Mbandaka Airport".
• The furthest airport from Mbandaka Airport (MDK) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Mbandaka Airport (meaning Mbandaka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,105 miles (19,481 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Mbandaka Airport (MDK) is Impfondo Airport (ION), which is located 110 miles (176 kilometers) N of MDK.
• Mbandaka Airport (MDK) currently has only 1 runway.