Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Dali, Yunnan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Dali Airport (DLU), Dali, Yunnan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,250 miles (or 8,450 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 RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Dali Airport, 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 RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Dali Airport. 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 RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):

• This was the time of the Blitz, when many parts of Britain were being subjected to an almost nightly series of heavy air raids.
• During this period, RAF Alconbury consisted of a few wooden huts but plans were made to provide both refuelling and rearmament facilities.
• Satellite bases were considered one answer to this threat – a landing ground within reasonable road travel distance of the parent airfield to which aircraft could be diverted if the home station was bombed or likely to be attacked.
• RAF Alconbury is about 0.308 sq mi in area.
• The group comprises six squadrons—security forces and civil engineer, air base, medical and services—and supports tenant units.
• In May 1942, RAF Alconbury was allocated to the United States Eighth Air Force when a number of stations in East Anglia were turned over to the Americans after their entry into the war.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• The furthest airport from RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Dali Airport (DLU):

• In addition to being known as "Dali Airport", other names for DLU include "大理机场" and "Dàlǐ Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Dali Airport (DLU) is Lijiang Sanyi Airport (LJG), which is located 71 miles (115 kilometers) N of DLU.
• The furthest airport from Dali Airport (DLU) is Chañaral Airport (CNR), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Chañaral, Atacama Region, Chile.
• Dali Airport handled 274,486 passengers last year.
• Because of Dali Airport's high elevation of 7,050 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DLU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DLU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Dali Airport (DLU) currently has only 1 runway.