Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Westhampton Beach, New York, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BEX to FOK:
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- About this route
- BEX Airport Information
- FOK Airport Information
- Facts about BEX
- Facts about FOK
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEX
- List of Nearest Airports to BEX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEX
- List of Furthest Airports from BEX
- Map of Nearest Airports to FOK
- List of Nearest Airports to FOK
- Map of Furthest Airports from FOK
- List of Furthest Airports from FOK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK), Westhampton Beach, New York, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,357 miles (or 5,403 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 Benson and Francis S. Gabreski 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 Benson and Francis S. Gabreski Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BEX / EGUB |
| Airport Name: | RAF Benson |
| Location: | Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'59"N by 1°5'44"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from BEX |
| More Information: | BEX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | FOK / KFOK |
| Airport Name: | Francis S. Gabreski Airport |
| Location: | Westhampton Beach, New York, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°50'36"N by 72°37'54"W |
| Area Served: | Westhampton Beach, New York |
| Operator/Owner: | County of Suffolk |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military (ANG) |
| Elevation: | 67 feet (20 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from FOK |
| More Information: | FOK Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- Its Supermarine Spitfire and de Havilland Mosquito aircraft flew missions over occupied Europe, for example bringing back battle damage assessment pictures after Operation Chastise.
- The airfield is a well-known frost hollow, often recording the coldest temperatures in the UK.
- The King's Flight moved from RAF Hendon and would stay until after the war, moving to RAF Northolt in 1995.
- The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
- The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- The future of RAF Benson was in doubt for some time, while Project Belvedere was looking into closing at least one of Joint Helicopter Command's airfields.
- Benson is currently home to 28 Squadron, 78 Squadron, 33 Squadron, 230 Squadron and also to Oxford University Air Squadron and No.
- The Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.
- Building work for RAF Benson began in 1937.
Facts about Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK):
- The closest airport to Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Calverton Executive Airpark (CTO), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of FOK.
- In 1975, the designation and mission changed again to "Aerospace Rescue and Recovery", later shortened to "Air Rescue" and then simply "Rescue".
- Because of Francis S. Gabreski Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Francis S. Gabreski 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.
- One fixed base operator provides services to airport users Shelt-Air Aviation Services which is the only FBO operation on the airport, having bought Malloy Air East in early 2014.
- The furthest airport from Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,798 miles (18,988 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) has 3 runways.
- In 1955, the 23 FIG was reassigned to Presque Isle AFB, Maine and replaced by the newly activated 52nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing, which flew under various designations from Suffolk County AFB until 1969, with the 2d and 5th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons flying F-94 Starfire, F-101 Voodoo and F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors.
- Renamed when the United States Air Force reclaimed the airport in 1951, Suffolk County Air Force Base was part of the Eastern Air Defense Force's defense of the New York City metropolitan area.
