Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Merced, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,291 miles (or 8,515 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 Merced Regional 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 Merced Regional 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 Benson (BEX):

• The airfield is a well-known frost hollow, often recording the coldest temperatures in the UK.
• 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 Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.
• The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.
• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.

Facts about Merced Regional Airport (MCE):

• The furthest airport from Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• On May 15, 2011 Great Lakes Airlines commenced daily service to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, with a stop in Visalia, California.
• In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
• Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Between 1957 and 2007, Merced Regional Airport hosted the annual Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In.
• Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced Regional 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 1941 construction delays at the Air Corps Basic Flying School site forced the Army to lease the original Merced Municipal Airport, resulting in the first aircraft assigned to the Air Corps Basic Flying School being stored at Merced Municipal Airport and giving the Basic Flying School its first usable axillary field.
• In 1943 New Merced Municipal Airport was leased to the U.S.
• The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.