Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Norfolk, Virginia (near Virginia Beach and Williamsburg), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Norfolk International Airport (ORF), Norfolk, Virginia (near Virginia Beach and Williamsburg), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,702 miles (or 5,958 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 Norfolk 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 Norfolk 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 October 1941 two of its flights with 16 Wellingtons were dispatched to operate from Malta, supposedly on an emergency detachment.
• At one frying-pan-shaped hardstand on the north side of the airfield, an earth shooting-in butt was constructed.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• During this period, RAF Alconbury consisted of a few wooden huts but plans were made to provide both refuelling and rearmament facilities.

Facts about Norfolk International Airport (ORF):

• Commercial aviation began in the Norfolk area about 1926, when Norfolk citizens flew commercially for the first time on the Mitten Line, operated by Philadelphia Rapid Transit Air Service, Inc.
• Norfolk International Airport (ORF) has 2 runways.
• In the 1980s, many changes were taking place.
• The closest airport to Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) WNW of ORF.
• Built in 1995, the FAA Norfolk Air Traffic Control Tower stands 134 feet high.
• Norfolk International Airport covers an area of 1,300 acres at an elevation of 27 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,769 miles (18,940 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• With World War II, Norfolk Municipal Airport became a vital resource to the war effort.
• Approximately 70 million pounds of air cargo are presently shipped in and out of Norfolk International Airport each year.
• Because of Norfolk International Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Norfolk 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.