Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Palmdale, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BEX to PMD:
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- About this route
- BEX Airport Information
- PMD Airport Information
- Facts about BEX
- Facts about PMD
- 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 PMD
- List of Nearest Airports to PMD
- Map of Furthest Airports from PMD
- List of Furthest Airports from PMD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,366 miles (or 8,636 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 Palmdale 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 Palmdale Regional 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: | PMD / KPMD |
| Airport Name: | Palmdale Regional Airport |
| Location: | Palmdale, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°37'45"N by 118°5'3"W |
| Area Served: | Palmdale, California |
| Airport Type: | Public/Military (Joint Use) |
| Elevation: | 2543 feet (775 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from PMD |
| More Information: | PMD Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- Building work for RAF Benson began in 1937.
- 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 King's Flight moved from RAF Hendon and would stay until after the war, moving to RAF Northolt in 1995.
- 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 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.
Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):
- Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
- LAWA has used Plant 42's facilities in past years when at one point in the early 1990s several airlines used the Palmdale Regional Airport terminal sited on Plant 42.
- In January 2007 subsidies valued at $4.6 million, with $2 million slated to underwrite losses incurred from providing airline service, were raised to restore commercial service to the airport.
- The origins of Palmdale Regional Airport go to the early 1930s, when a small airstrip was built in the desert.
- The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
- The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- During the 1990s, airlines operated out of the Palmdale Regional Airport, which consisted of the terminal and parking lot on leased land.
- Palmdale Army Airfield was declared a surplus facility in 1946 and was purchased by Los Angeles County for use as a municipal airport.
