Nonstop flight route between Watsonville, California, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WVI to FFD:
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- About this route
- WVI Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about WVI
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to WVI
- List of Nearest Airports to WVI
- Map of Furthest Airports from WVI
- List of Furthest Airports from WVI
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Watsonville Municipal Airport (WVI), Watsonville, California, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,325 miles (or 8,570 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 Watsonville Municipal Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Watsonville Municipal Airport and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WVI / KWVI |
Airport Name: | Watsonville Municipal Airport |
Location: | Watsonville, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°56'8"N by 121°47'22"W |
Operator/Owner: | City of Watsonville |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 163 feet (50 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WVI |
More Information: | WVI Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Watsonville Municipal Airport (WVI):
- Because of Watsonville Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 163 feet, planes can take off or land at Watsonville Municipal 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 airport is uncontrolled, and the CTAF is 122.8 MHz, and the ASOS can be received on 132.275 MHz or by calling 831-724-8794.
- The furthest airport from Watsonville Municipal Airport (WVI) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,380 miles (18,315 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Watsonville Municipal Airport (WVI) is Hollister Municipal Airport (HLI), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) E of WVI.
- Watsonville Municipal Airport (WVI) has 2 runways.
- Watsonville Municipal Airport is a public airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Watsonville, a city in Santa Cruz County, California, USA.
- The Watsonville airport's longest runway is 02-20 and its dimensions are 4501' x 150'.
Facts about RAF Fairford (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.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.