Nonstop flight route between McKinleyville, California, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Arcata/Eureka Airport (ACV), McKinleyville, California, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,160 miles (or 8,304 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 Arcata/Eureka 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 Arcata/Eureka Airport and RAF Fairford. 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 Arcata/Eureka Airport (ACV):

• The airport is under the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission and major changes to the airport such as rezoning or fencing in the airport require its approval.
• In 2005 the airport served 102,000 arriving commercial passengers and 104,000 departing on 4,370 departing flights.
• In addition to being known as "Arcata/Eureka Airport", another name for ACV is "Arcata Airport".
• Because of Arcata/Eureka Airport's relatively low elevation of 222 feet, planes can take off or land at Arcata/Eureka 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.
• Arcata Airport covers 745 acres at an elevation of 222 feet.
• The closest airport to Arcata/Eureka Airport (ACV) is Murray Field (EKA), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) S of ACV.
• The furthest airport from Arcata/Eureka Airport (ACV) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,222 miles (18,059 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Arcata/Eureka Airport (ACV) has 2 runways.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• 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.