Nonstop flight route between Emigrant Gap, California, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Blue Canyon–Nyack Airport (BLU), Emigrant Gap, California, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,158 miles (or 8,302 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 Blue Canyon–Nyack Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Blue Canyon–Nyack Airport and RAF Fairford. 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 Blue Canyon–Nyack Airport (BLU):

• The closest airport to Blue Canyon–Nyack Airport (BLU) is Auburn Municipal Airport (AUN), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SW of BLU.
• Runway length = 3,300 feet, width = 50 feet
• The furthest airport from Blue Canyon–Nyack Airport (BLU) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,220 miles (18,056 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The airport is served by a single, short, asphalt runway.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.