Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Melbourne, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Melbourne International Airport (MLB), Melbourne, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,288 miles (or 6,900 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 Melbourne International 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 Melbourne International 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 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 is today the home to four squadrons of Support Helicopters, 28 Squadron, 78 Squadron with Merlin helicopters and 33 Squadron and 230 Squadron with Puma helicopters.
• The Battles were replaced in December 1940 with Vickers Wellington medium bombers.
• 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 Melbourne International Airport (MLB):

• Because of Melbourne International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne International 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.
• Monthly passengers were at a seasonal low in September 2007 at 14,083.
• The furthest airport from Melbourne International Airport (MLB) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,549 miles (18,586 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Melbourne International Airport (MLB) is Patrick Air Force Base (COF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NNE of MLB.
• Melbourne International Airport began in 1928 when a Pitcairn Aircraft landed on a cow pasture strip north of Kissimmee Highway.
• Monument sign at entrance to Melbourne International Airport
• In the early 1980s some ending scenes for the film Stranger Than Paradise were shot in the Melbourne area, including several plot scenes shot at the Airport.
• Melbourne International Airport (MLB) has 3 runways.
• Melbourne International Airport is a public airport 1.5 miles northwest of downtown Melbourne, in Brevard County, Florida, United States.
• 229,000 passengers used the airport in 2009, a 24% drop from 2008.