Nonstop flight route between Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,267 miles (or 5,257 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 Westover Air Reserve Base 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 Westover Air Reserve Base 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 Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• With the establishment of the United States Air Force in September 1947, the name of Westover Field was changed to Westover Air Force Base on 13 January 1948.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• In September 1972, the 4713th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron moved to Westover AFB from Otis AFB.
• Current military operations at Westover Air Reserve Base are centered around its exceptionally long runways.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Four-engine C-54 Skymaster and shorter-range C-47 Skytrain transports took supplies and reinforcements from Westover to the armed forces and returned with the wounded and discharged troops.
• Westover Field was placed under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Air District, later First Air Force, with the 25th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron the main Base Operating Unit.
• Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.