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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW), Lanzhou, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,787 miles (or 7,704 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 Lanzhou Zhongchuan 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 Lanzhou Zhongchuan 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 closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• Also in 1942, to bring the station up to Class A airfield standards, the runways were extended to 2,000 yards, and 1,400 yards, with 26 additional hardstands along with the taxiways altered.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• This was the time of the Blitz, when many parts of Britain were being subjected to an almost nightly series of heavy air raids.
• Squadrons 15 and 40 converted from Battles to Bristol Blenheim bombers, but did not take part in bombing raids with the new type until the German Blitzkrieg was unleashed in May 1940.
• The host unit at RAF Alconbury is the 423rd Air Base Group which supplies host unit services for Alconbury as well as RAF Molesworth.

Facts about Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW):

• Airport Express Shuttle Bus service is available on a single route from the airport to the Lanzhou Eastern Hotel, Tianshui Middle Road, opposite Lanzhou University western gate.
• In addition to being known as "Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport", other names for LHW include "兰州中川机场", "Lánzhōu Zhōngchuān Jīchǎng" and "ZGC".
• Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is an airport serving Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, China.
• Because of Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport's high elevation of 6,388 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LHW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LHW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW) is Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of LHW.
• The furthest airport from Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is nearly antipodal to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (meaning Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carriel Sur International Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW) currently has only 1 runway.