Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Takamatsu Airport (TAK), Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,850 miles (or 9,414 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 Takamatsu 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 Takamatsu 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.
• 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.
• Opened in 1938, it is currently a non-flying facility under the control of the United States Air Force.
• 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.
• In addition, two underground gasoline storage facilities, with a total capacity of 216,000 gallons were situated at points adjacent to the perimeter track, but at some distance from the explosive storage area.

Facts about Takamatsu Airport (TAK):

• In addition to being known as "Takamatsu Airport", other names for TAK include "高松空港" and "Takamatsu Kūkō".
• Takamatsu Airport (TAK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Takamatsu Airport (TAK) is Okayama Airport (OKJ), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) NNW of TAK.
• The furthest airport from Takamatsu Airport (TAK) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Takamatsu Airport (meaning Takamatsu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,050 miles (19,393 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• It is equipped with an Instrument Landing System, VHF Omni-directional Radio Range, Distance Measuring Equipment, Airport Surveillance Radar, approach lights, precision approach angle guidance lights, and more.
• Because of Takamatsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 607 feet, planes can take off or land at Takamatsu 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.
• Almost all the airplanes that come from domestic destinations are Boeing 767 or A320 model airplanes.