Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,921 miles (or 6,310 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 Gary/Chicago International 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 Gary/Chicago International 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):

• 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 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 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 and RAF Molesworth are the last Second World War-era Eighth Air Force bases in Britain that are still actively in use and controlled by the United States Air Force.
• In the spring of 1938, the Air Ministry acquired about 150 acres of open meadowland at Alconbury Hill, Huntingdonshire, expressly for use as a satellite airfield.
• The technical site on the north-west side was expanded where a single T2 hangar was also erected.
• 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.

Facts about Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY):

• Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) has 2 runways.
• Skybus Airlines served the airport until the airline folded on April 4, 2008.
• On December 12, 2011 Allegiant Air announced they would begin service to Orlando Sanford International Airport two days a week beginning February 15, 2012.
• On the afternoon of March 22, 2013, the FAA closed the airport's control tower, along with other airports in Illinois.
• The furthest airport from Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,868 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) NW of GYY.
• Because of Gary/Chicago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 591 feet, planes can take off or land at Gary/Chicago International 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.