Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Valence, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from AYH to VAF:
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- About this route
- AYH Airport Information
- VAF Airport Information
- Facts about AYH
- Facts about VAF
- Map of Nearest Airports to AYH
- List of Nearest Airports to AYH
- Map of Furthest Airports from AYH
- List of Furthest Airports from AYH
- Map of Nearest Airports to VAF
- List of Nearest Airports to VAF
- Map of Furthest Airports from VAF
- List of Furthest Airports from VAF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 566 miles (or 911 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 relatively short distance between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Valence - Chabeuil Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | AYH / EGWZ |
| Airport Name: | RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 |
| Location: | Alconbury, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 52°21'47"N by 0°13'22"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from AYH |
| More Information: | AYH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VAF / LFLU |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Valence, France |
| GPS Coordinates: | 44°54'56"N by 4°58'6"E |
| Area Served: | Valence, Drôme, France |
| Operator/Owner: | Department of Drôme |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military |
| Elevation: | 525 feet (160 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VAF |
| More Information: | VAF Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):
- In September 1939, RAF Upwood squadrons were given operational training roles and Alconbury became RAF Wyton's satellite under No.
- 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.
- The group comprises six squadrons—security forces and civil engineer, air base, medical and services—and supports tenant units.
- After a minimal amount of construction, RAF Alconbury was tested in May 1938 when No.
- 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.
- In the spring of 1938, the Air Ministry acquired about 150 acres of open meadowland at Alconbury Hill, Huntingdonshire, expressly for use as a satellite airfield.
- 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 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.
- RAF Alconbury is also the home of the 501st Combat Support Wing.
Facts about Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):
- In addition to being known as "Valence - Chabeuil Airport", other names for VAF include "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-23" and "Aéroport de Valence - Chabeuil".
- In 1945 the Armée de l'Air returned to its airfield and it returned to its prewar status as an active air base.
- The furthest airport from Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (meaning Valence - Chabeuil Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,333 miles (19,848 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Because of Valence - Chabeuil Airport's relatively low elevation of 525 feet, planes can take off or land at Valence - Chabeuil 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.
- Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
- Used by the French Air Force base after the war, it was closed and today the airport is used for general aviation, with no commercial airline service.
