Nonstop flight route between Akron, Colorado, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO), Akron, Colorado, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,536 miles (or 7,300 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 Colorado Plains Regional 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 Colorado Plains Regional 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 Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO):

• Because of Colorado Plains Regional Airport's high elevation of 4,714 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AKO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AKO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO) is Sidney Municipal Airport (SNY), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) N of AKO.
• The furthest airport from Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,818 miles (17,410 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Colorado Plains Regional Airport is a public-use airport located on the north side city limits of Akron, Colorado, a town in Washington County, Colorado, United States.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.