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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD), Rockford, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,957 miles (or 6,367 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 Chicago Rockford 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 Chicago Rockford 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of 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.
• In late 1940/41, an expansion of RAF Alconbury commenced to upgrade its facilities from a satellite airfield to a fully operational one.
• While this work was in progress, No.
• In September 1939, RAF Upwood squadrons were given operational training roles and Alconbury became RAF Wyton's satellite under No.

Facts about Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD):

• Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport (JVL), which is located 30 miles (47 kilometers) N of RFD.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Chicago Rockford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 742 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Rockford 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.
• RFD was once the company headquarters for Ryan International Airlines, staging many of its aircraft at the airport for charter hire.
• In an effort to capitalize on the airport's location from downtown Chicago and about 30 miles from the outermost Chicago suburbs), its name was changed to the Northwest Chicagoland Regional Airport at Rockford in the early 2000s.
• The current terminal was built in 1987 in an effort to expand airline service in Rockford, but the common use of bus service to O'Hare International Airport kept most airlines away from Rockford.