Nonstop flight route between Merced, California, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MCE to LKZ:
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- About this route
- MCE Airport Information
- LKZ Airport Information
- Facts about MCE
- Facts about LKZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to MCE
- List of Nearest Airports to MCE
- Map of Furthest Airports from MCE
- List of Furthest Airports from MCE
- Map of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- List of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from LKZ
- List of Furthest Airports from LKZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,302 miles (or 8,532 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 Merced Regional Airport and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Merced Regional Airport and RAF Lakenheath. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MCE / KMCE |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Merced, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°17'4"N by 120°30'50"W |
Area Served: | Merced, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of Merced |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 155 feet (47 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MCE |
More Information: | MCE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LKZ / EGUL |
Airport Name: | RAF Lakenheath |
Location: | Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°24'29"N by 0°33'24"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from LKZ |
More Information: | LKZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Merced Regional Airport (MCE):
- On March 15, 1932 the Merced City Council accepted the title to the site of an airport as a gift from the Twenty-Thirty Club and the Crocker-Huffman Company.
- In 1946 United Airlines built offices and a terminal building and began one Douglas DC-3 flight each way a day.
- Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced 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.
- In 1943 New Merced Municipal Airport was leased to the U.S.
- The airport was formerly served by Air Pacific, American Eagle, Golden Gate Airlines, United Airlines, United Express and US Airways Express.
- In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
- The furthest airport from Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Department of Transportation reselected Great Lakes Airlines to provide Essential Air Service at Merced Regional Airport for the two-year period from October 1, 2012, through September 30, 2014.
- The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.
Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):
- The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
- The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.
- Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel.
- In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
- The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
- The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
- In response to the threat by the Soviet Union, by the 1948 Berlin blockade, President Truman decided to realign USAFE into a permanent combat-capable force.
- On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.