Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ), Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,824 miles (or 9,373 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 Santa Cruz Air Force Base, 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 Santa Cruz Air Force Base. 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 late 1940/41, an expansion of RAF Alconbury commenced to upgrade its facilities from a satellite airfield to a fully operational one.
• 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.
• 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.
• During the Second World War, it was controlled by the USAAF Eighth Air Force, from 23 February 1944 to 7 August 1945 the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, thereafter the United States Air Forces in Europe,
• 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.

Facts about Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ):

• Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 12 February 1942, six months before Brazil declaring war against the Axis, the airport became a base of the Brazilian Air Force.
• The furthest airport from Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Cruz Air Force Base (meaning Santa Cruz Air Force Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,093 miles (19,462 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• Because of Santa Cruz Air Force Base's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Cruz Air Force Base 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 Santa Cruz Air Force Base (SNZ) is Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) ENE of SNZ.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Cruz Air Force Base", another name for SNZ is "Base Aérea de Santa Cruz".
• As a consequence to the Hindenburg disaster on 6 May 1937 at Lakehurst Air Naval Station in New Jersey, USA, the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin requested to the Brazilian Government on 17 June 1937 the suspension of services.