Nonstop flight route between Bloomington, Illinois, United States and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BMI to BEX:
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- About this route
- BMI Airport Information
- BEX Airport Information
- Facts about BMI
- Facts about BEX
- Map of Nearest Airports to BMI
- List of Nearest Airports to BMI
- Map of Furthest Airports from BMI
- List of Furthest Airports from BMI
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEX
- List of Nearest Airports to BEX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEX
- List of Furthest Airports from BEX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI), Bloomington, Illinois, United States and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,022 miles (or 6,473 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 Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal and RAF Benson, 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 Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal and RAF Benson. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BMI / KBMI |
Airport Name: | Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal |
Location: | Bloomington, Illinois, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°28'37"N by 88°54'56"W |
Area Served: | Bloomington / Normal, Illinois |
Operator/Owner: | Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 871 feet (265 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BMI |
More Information: | BMI Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI):
- The airport covers 1,968 acres at an elevation of 871 feet.
- The furthest airport from Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,045 miles (17,775 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 262,846 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 243,448 in 2009 and 274,677 in 2010.
- Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI) has 2 runways.
- The Prairie Aviation Museum is on the west side of the airport.
- Because of Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal's relatively low elevation of 871 feet, planes can take off or land at Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal 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.
- Hangar rental, fueling, and aircraft maintenance facilities are available.
- The airport dates to the spring of 1927 when farmer Herman Will opened a 70-plus-acre tract in rural Normal Township.
- The closest airport to Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI) is General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) WNW of BMI.
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- The Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.
- 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 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 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.