Nonstop flight route between Columbus, Mississippi, United States and Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States and RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,301 miles (or 6,921 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 Columbus Air Force Base and RAF Lyneham, 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 Columbus Air Force Base and RAF Lyneham. 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 Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1965 the 454th converted to B-52D, which was re-engineered for conventional bomb missions over Southeast Asia, although some B-52Cs were also assigned during 1968–69.
• When the war ended in 1945, the base strength had reached a peak of 2,300 enlisted men, 300 officers, and an average of 250 pilot cadets per class.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• The host unit at Columbus is the 14th Flying Training Wing assigned to the Air Education and Training Command.
• The base began an active four-year rebuilding program to prepare the base for its new mission and to be part of SAC's base dispersal system.
• The citizens' efforts bore fruit.
• As the demand for pilots to support the war in Southeast Asia increased, the number of B-52s based stateside fell because they were needed overseas.
• With the Korean War at an end and pilot production needs dropping, the decision was made to close the contract flying school at Columbus.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.

Facts about RAF Lyneham (LYE):

• The furthest airport from RAF Lyneham (LYE) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,913 miles (19,172 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In 1956, with the arrival of the de Havilland Comet operated by 216 Squadron, the main runway was extended from 6,000 feet to its present length of 7,830 feet.
• 99 Squadron reformed on 17 November 1945, at RAF Lyneham equipped with the Avro York, it operated as part of the Berlin Airlift.
• RAF Lyneham received the first of 25 brand-new Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules on 23 November 1999, to be operated by Nos.
• With the increase in air transport operations in the RAF, as opposed to ferrying, Transport Command was formed in March 1943.
• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.
• The airfield became renowned for being the "gateway" between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan.
• Because of RAF Lyneham's relatively low elevation of 512 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Lyneham 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.
• The Ministry of Defence announced plans in December 2012 to re-develop Lyneham as a Defence Technical Training establishment by the end of 2015 and, on 14 December 2012, it invited interest from industry into developing the infrastructure at the former RAF site at Lyneham.
• The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.