Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Punta Islita, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Punta Islita Airport (PBP), Punta Islita, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,476 miles (or 8,813 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 Punta Islita 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 Punta Islita 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 construction attracted the attention of the Luftwaffe as the flying field of RAF Alconbury was attacked by German bombers on 16 September 1940, although no serious damage was done.
• 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.
• During this period, RAF Alconbury consisted of a few wooden huts but plans were made to provide both refuelling and rearmament facilities.
• The host unit at RAF Alconbury is the 423rd Air Base Group which supplies host unit services for Alconbury as well as RAF Molesworth.
• 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.
• At one frying-pan-shaped hardstand on the north side of the airfield, an earth shooting-in butt was constructed.

Facts about Punta Islita Airport (PBP):

• Punta Islita Airport (PBP) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Punta Islita Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Punta Islita 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.
• The closest airport to Punta Islita Airport (PBP) is Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of PBP.
• The furthest airport from Punta Islita Airport (PBP) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Punta Islita Airport (meaning Punta Islita Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,217 miles (19,661 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.