Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Visalia, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS), Visalia, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,303 miles (or 8,534 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 Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield, 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 Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield. 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):

• This was the time of the Blitz, when many parts of Britain were being subjected to an almost nightly series of heavy air raids.
• 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.
• During this period, RAF Alconbury consisted of a few wooden huts but plans were made to provide both refuelling and rearmament facilities.
• 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.
• RAF Alconbury is about 0.308 sq mi in area.
• 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,
• The first American Eighth Air Force unit to take residence at RAF Alconbury was the 93d Bombardment Group, known as the "Travelling Circus" from Fort Myers AAF, Florida on 7 September 1942.

Facts about Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS):

• Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was featured in the 1993 film Son In Law in a scene where an American Eagle Airlines Saab 340 is shown landing at the airport.
• In January 1944 the Headquarters, Army Air Forces ordered the entire Air University night fighter training program to California to be headquartered at Hammer Field.
• The furthest airport from Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,355 miles (18,274 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Airline flights are subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.
• The closest airport to Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield (VIS) is Mefford Field (TLR), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of VIS.
• Because of Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 295 feet, planes can take off or land at Visalia Municipal AirportVisalia Army Airfield 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.
• Unlike the construction of other military airfields of World War II, Visalia Army Airfield seems to have used the existing municipal airport.