Nonstop flight route between San Luis Obispo, California, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SBP to LKZ:
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- About this route
- SBP Airport Information
- LKZ Airport Information
- Facts about SBP
- Facts about LKZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to SBP
- List of Nearest Airports to SBP
- Map of Furthest Airports from SBP
- List of Furthest Airports from SBP
- 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 San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP), San Luis Obispo, California, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,425 miles (or 8,731 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 San Luis Obispo County 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 San Luis Obispo County 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: | SBP / KSBP |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | San Luis Obispo, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°14'12"N by 120°38'30"W |
Operator/Owner: | San Luis Obispo County |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 212 feet (65 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SBP |
More Information: | SBP 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 San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP):
- The airport began as one man's dream.
- In 1940 hard surface runways and lights were installed by the War Department.
- The federal government took over the airport during World War II and turned control back to the county in 1946.
- The airport has a terminal building, restaurant, numerous hangars and airplane related businesses.
- San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) has 2 runways.
- Because of San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 212 feet, planes can take off or land at San Luis Obispo County 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.
- The closest airport to San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) is O'Sullivan Army Heliport (CSL), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SBP.
- In addition to being known as "San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport", another name for SBP is "McChesney Field".
- Southwest Airways DC-3 flights to San Luis Obispo lasted from 1946 to 1956 when the airline moved its service to Paso Robles due to the short runway at San Luis Obispo not being able to accommodate more modern aircraft.
- The furthest airport from San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):
- 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.
- Lakenheath Airfield was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941.
- The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
- By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
- In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
- In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
- 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.