Nonstop flight route between Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,185 miles (or 6,735 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 Brize Norton and Eielson Air Force Base, 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 Brize Norton and Eielson Air Force Base. 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 Brize Norton (BZZ):

• RAF Brize Norton was opened in 1937 as a training station and one of the first squadrons to use the airfield was No.
• The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Brize Norton is already a major airbase for the RAF's transport fleet.
• A peace camp was held at the station from 21 to 25 April 2005, along with a demonstration in nearby Carterton.
• The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
• By the end of June 2011 all flying units from RAF Lyneham had moved to RAF Brize Norton.
• During the 2003 Iraq War four anti-war protesters managed to access the main runway in an attempt to prevent aircraft taking off.
• By the 1950s Cold War tension was escalating and the United States envisaged stationing nuclear bombers in the United Kingdom as a deterrent to Soviet aggression.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
• Until 2007, Eielson was a front line base, deploying fighter and bomber units around the world as well as providing for the defense of Alaska.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
• In 1984, the 343d Composite Wing was redesignated a Tactical Fighter Wing.
• On 7 June 1943, the Western Defense Command ordered construction of a new airfield near present-day Fort Wainwright, then an Army airfield named after Major Arthur Ladd.
• The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Today the 1st Brigade 25th Infantry Division and the 4th Brigade 25th Infantry Division can be found training there.
• A year later, however, Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control.
• Headquarters USAF General Order 2, dated 13 January 1948, redesignated Mile 26 as Eielson AFB.