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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Shafter Airport (MIT), Shafter, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,352 miles (or 8,613 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 Shafter 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 Shafter 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 closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
• Building work for RAF Benson began in 1937.
• The airfield is a well-known frost hollow, often recording the coldest temperatures in the UK.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Shafter Airport (MIT):

• Shafter Airport (MIT) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Shafter Airport (MIT) is Meadows Field (BFL), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of MIT.
• For the 12-month period ending November 1, 2011, the airport had 45,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 123 per day.
• With the relative completion of construction in July 1942, the airfield was renamed Minter Field Army Airfield a member of the locally prominent Minter family.
• Because of Shafter Airport's relatively low elevation of 424 feet, planes can take off or land at Shafter 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 furthest airport from Shafter Airport (MIT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,404 miles (18,353 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In addition to being known as "Shafter Airport", another name for MIT is "Minter Field".