Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Dunhuang, Gansu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Dunhuang Airport (DNH), Dunhuang, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,282 miles (or 6,892 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 Dunhuang 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 Dunhuang 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.
• In 1937, Royal Air Force Bomber Command was drawing up plans for dispersal of their aircraft in the event of air raids on its stations.
• During this period, RAF Alconbury consisted of a few wooden huts but plans were made to provide both refuelling and rearmament facilities.
• 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.
• In October 1941 two of its flights with 16 Wellingtons were dispatched to operate from Malta, supposedly on an emergency detachment.
• A total of 67 bombers had been lost in RAF Bomber Command operations flown from Alconbury, eight were Blenheims and 59 Wellingtons.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• RAF Alconbury is about 0.308 sq mi in area.

Facts about Dunhuang Airport (DNH):

• In addition to being known as "Dunhuang Airport", other names for DNH include "敦煌机场" and "Dūnhuáng Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Dunhuang Airport (DNH) is Jiayuguan Airport (JGN), which is located 188 miles (303 kilometers) E of DNH.
• The furthest airport from Dunhuang Airport (DNH) is Pupelde Airfield (ZUD), which is located 11,831 miles (19,041 kilometers) away in Ancud, Los Lagos Region, Chile.