Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and West Chicago, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,939 miles (or 6,339 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 DuPage 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 DuPage 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):

• The 501 CSW ensures United Kingdom-based air base groups are resourced, sustained, trained and equipped to exacting command standards in order to provide mission support that enables United States and NATO war fighters to conduct full spectrum flying operations during expeditionary deployments, theatre munitions movements, global command and control communications to forward deployed locations, support for theatre intelligence operations and joint/combined training.
• 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.
• 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.
• The group comprises six squadrons—security forces and civil engineer, air base, medical and services—and supports tenant units.

Facts about DuPage Airport (DPA):

• In 1946, with the war over, the Navy sold the airport to DuPage County for $1.
• The airport grew from 900 acres in 1985 to 2,800 acres by 1992, with the goal of maintaining control of all the property surrounding the runway complex.
• DuPage Airport (DPA) has 4 runways.
• The airport has faced severe political criticism in the 1980s and 1990s.
• The closest airport to DuPage Airport (DPA) is Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport (AUZ), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of DPA.
• The furthest airport from DuPage Airport (DPA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,056 miles (17,792 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• However, planners learned a lesson from the plight of the beleaguered, land-locked Midway Airport.
• Because of DuPage Airport's relatively low elevation of 759 feet, planes can take off or land at DuPage 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.