Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Pell City, Alabama, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BEX to PLR:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- BEX Airport Information
- PLR Airport Information
- Facts about BEX
- Facts about PLR
- 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 PLR
- List of Nearest Airports to PLR
- Map of Furthest Airports from PLR
- List of Furthest Airports from PLR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and St. Clair County Airport (PLR), Pell City, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,250 miles (or 6,839 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 St. Clair County 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 St. Clair County 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: | PLR / KPLR |
Airport Name: | St. Clair County Airport |
Location: | Pell City, Alabama, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°33'32"N by 86°14'57"W |
Area Served: | Pell City, Alabama |
Operator/Owner: | St. Clair County Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 485 feet (148 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PLR |
More Information: | PLR Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- 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 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 closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of 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 King's Flight moved from RAF Hendon and would stay until after the war, moving to RAF Northolt in 1995.
- The Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.
- 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.
Facts about St. Clair County Airport (PLR):
- St. Clair County Airport (PLR) currently has only 1 runway.
- Sammies Touch-n-Go restaurant is located on the North end of the airport.
- Because of St. Clair County Airport's relatively low elevation of 485 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Clair County 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 St. Clair County Airport (PLR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,212 miles (18,044 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to St. Clair County Airport (PLR) is Talladega Municipal Airport (ASN), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of PLR.