Nonstop flight route between Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and Ankang, Shaanxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA), Ankang, Shaanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,146 miles (or 8,282 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 Honington USAAF Station 375 and Ankang Wulipu 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 Honington USAAF Station 375 and Ankang Wulipu 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 Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ):

• Construction of Honington airfield began in 1935, and the facility was opened on 3 May 1937.
• In 1956, RAF Honington also became one of the main V bomber bases maintaining three Vickers Valiant squadrons, Nos, 7, 90, and 199.
• The closest airport to RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of BEQ.
• The furthest airport from RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,834 miles (19,044 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In June 1942, the airfield was transferred to the USAAF and was upgraded to a Class A Bomber base.
• The group patrolled the English Channel during the Normandy invasion in June 1944, and, while continuing escort operations, supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives, marshalling yards, bridges, barges, and other targets.

Facts about Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA):

• The airport has one runway that is 1,600 meters long and 30 meters wide, and a 1,200 square-meter terminal building.
• Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Civil flights first started in the 1964 but ceased in 1986.
• The closest airport to Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA) is Shennongjia Hongping Airport (HPG), which is located 111 miles (178 kilometers) SE of AKA.
• The furthest airport from Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is nearly antipodal to Ankang Wulipu Airport (meaning Ankang Wulipu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Viña del Mar Airport), and is located 12,408 miles (19,968 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• Because of Ankang Wulipu Airport's relatively low elevation of 860 feet, planes can take off or land at Ankang Wulipu 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ankang Wulipu Airport", other names for AKA include "安康五里铺机场" and "Ānkāng Wǔlǐpù Jīchǎng".