Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Duxford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Duxford Aerodrome (QFO), Duxford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,439 miles (or 11,971 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 Wake Island Airfield and Duxford Aerodrome, 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 Wake Island Airfield and Duxford Aerodrome. 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 Wake Island Airfield (AWK):

• The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
• The furthest airport from Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is located 11,652 miles (18,752 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• Between 5 and 29 May 1935, Pan American's air base construction vessel, North Haven, landed supplies and equipment on Wilkes Island for eventual rehandling to Peale Island which, because of its more suitable soil and geology, had been selected as site for the PAA seaplane base.
• Because of Wake Island Airfield's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Wake Island Airfield 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.
• Japan Airlines used both Wake Island and Honolulu as stops on its initial Tokyo-San Francisco service using Douglas DC-6s in the mid-1950s.
• Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Duxford Aerodrome (QFO):

• Duxford airfield dates to 1918 when many of the buildings were constructed by German prisoner-of-war labour.
• In addition to being known as "Duxford Aerodrome", other names for QFO include "Royal Air Force Station Duxford" and "USAAF Station 357".
• Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,843 miles (19,060 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of QFO.
• The 78th Fighter Group arrived at Duxford from RAF Goxhill in April 1943.
• In 1938 No.19 Squadron was the first RAF squadron to fly the new Supermarine Spitfire.
• The air echelon moved to Oujda, French Morocco during January–February 1943.
• Because of Duxford Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Duxford Aerodrome 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.
• On 1 December 1945, a few weeks after the departure of the 78th Fighter Group, Duxford was returned to the RAF.