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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL), Riverside, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,384 miles (or 8,665 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 Riverside Municipal 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 Riverside Municipal 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 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 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 airfield is a well-known frost hollow, often recording the coldest temperatures in the UK.
• 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 Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL):

• Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) has 2 runways.
• Runway 9/27 was paved about 1956 and Bonanza Air Lines appeared soon after.
• The furthest airport from Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,462 miles (18,446 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NE of RAL.
• The crosswind runway, RWY 16-34, is suited for smaller aircraft.
• Because of Riverside Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 818 feet, planes can take off or land at Riverside Municipal 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.