Nonstop flight route between College Park, Maryland, United States and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CGS to BEX:
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- About this route
- CGS Airport Information
- BEX Airport Information
- Facts about CGS
- Facts about BEX
- Map of Nearest Airports to CGS
- List of Nearest Airports to CGS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CGS
- List of Furthest Airports from CGS
- 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 College Park Airport (CGS), College Park, Maryland, United States and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,615 miles (or 5,817 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 College Park Airport 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 College Park Airport 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: | CGS / KCGS |
Airport Name: | College Park Airport |
Location: | College Park, Maryland, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°58'50"N by 76°55'20"W |
Operator/Owner: | Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 48 feet (15 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CGS |
More Information: | CGS 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 College Park Airport (CGS):
- Civilian aviation began at College Park with Rex Smith, an inventor and patent attorney, who operated the Rex Smith Aeroplane Company.
- The furthest airport from College Park Airport (CGS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,684 miles (18,803 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- George Brinckerhoff took over management of the Airfield and ran it from 1927 until 1959, hosting numerous airshows and teaching hundreds of pilots to fly during his tenure.
- In 1920, Emile and Henry Berliner brought their theories of vertical flight to the field and in 1924 made the first controlled helicopter flight.
- The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission purchased the Airport in 1973 and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
- In 1915 Cecil Peoli, one of the world's first professional aviators, died testing his 12-cylinder Rausenburger-powered biplane at College Park in preparation for New York and St.
- College Park Airport (CGS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to College Park Airport (CGS) is Bolling Air Force Base (BOF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) SSW of CGS.
- Because of College Park Airport's relatively low elevation of 48 feet, planes can take off or land at College Park Airport 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.
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- The King's Flight moved from RAF Hendon and would stay until after the war, moving to RAF Northolt in 1995.
- Building work for RAF Benson began in 1937.
- The Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.
- The future of RAF Benson was in doubt for some time, while Project Belvedere was looking into closing at least one of Joint Helicopter Command's airfields.
- 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.
- 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 closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.