Nonstop flight route between Butte, Montana, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bert Mooney Airport (BTM), Butte, Montana, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,574 miles (or 7,362 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 Bert Mooney Airport and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Bert Mooney Airport and RAF Lakenheath. 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 Bert Mooney Airport (BTM):

• On March 22, 2009 a Pilatus PC-12 flying in from Oroville, California crashed in Holy Cross Cemetery 500 feet from the airport, killing all 14 people on board.
• The furthest airport from Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,611 miles (17,077 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Bert Mooney Airport's high elevation of 5,550 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BTM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BTM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport name was changed in 1972 to honor Bert Mooney, an aviator from Butte who was the first to fly mail into Yellowstone National Park in 1935.
• The closest airport to Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) is Dillon Airport (DLN), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) S of BTM.
• Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) has 2 runways.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• On 10 October 1956, a United States Navy Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster transport on a Military Air Transport Service flight carrying 50 members of the 305th Bombardment Wing on their way home to the United States after a temporary duty assignment and a U.S.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.
• In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron's HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue helicopters.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.