Nonstop flight route between Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and Springfield, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI), Springfield, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,129 miles (or 6,646 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 Abraham Lincoln Capital 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 Abraham Lincoln Capital 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):

• Besides the air depot, Honington also housed an operational fighter unit when the 364th Fighter Group took up residence at Honington in February 1944, arriving from Santa Maria AAF, California.
• Converted from P-38 Lightnings to P-51 Mustangs in the summer of 1944 and from then until the end of the war flew many long-range escort missions heavy bombers that attacked oil refineries, industries, and other strategic objectives at Berlin, Regensburg, Merseburg, Stuttgart, Brussels, and elsewhere.
• 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.
• 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.
• IX Squadron reformed at RAF Honington in August 1982, becoming the world's first Panavia Tornado GR1 squadron.
• The 364th FG flew escort, dive-bombing, strafing, and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
• The 364th also flew air-sea rescue missions, engaged in patrol activities, and continued to support ground forces as the battle line moved through France and into Germany.

Facts about Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI):

• The 183 FW remains in place at Capital Airport AGS minus a flying mission while the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,013 miles (17,724 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI) has 3 runways.
• Because of Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport's relatively low elevation of 598 feet, planes can take off or land at Abraham Lincoln Capital 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.
• The airport was served by Ozark Airlines with Douglas DC-9s and Fairchild Hiller FH-227s to St.
• The closest airport to Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI) is Decatur Airport (DEC), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) E of SPI.
• The 183 FW was directed to divest itself of its fighter aircraft pursuant to a Base Realignment and Closure 2005 decision, and in October 2008, the last of the 170th Fighter Squadron's fifteen F-16C/D Fighting Falcon aircraft departed Capital Airport AGS for redistribution to other Air National Guard fighter wings.