Nonstop flight route between Abilene, Texas, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), Abilene, Texas, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,874 miles (or 7,843 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 Abilene 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 Abilene 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Abilene Regional Airport (ABI):

• The terminal has seen many expansions and improvements in the past decade.
• Abilene Regional Airport (ABI) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Abilene Regional Airport (ABI) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,072 miles (17,819 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Abilene Regional Airport (ABI) is Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) W of ABI.
• Air freight service to Abilene is provided primarily by subcontractors.

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.
• Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England.
• In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron's HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue helicopters.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• In conjunction with this transfer, control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from Strategic Air Command back to USAFE.
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.