Nonstop flight route between Columbia, South Carolina, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport (CUB), Columbia, South Carolina, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,985 miles (or 6,413 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 Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport 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 Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport 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 Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport (CUB):

• Because of Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport's relatively low elevation of 194 feet, planes can take off or land at Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens 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.
• Just prior to World War II, some Air Corps operations from the 65th Observation Group flew observation flights from the airport, until Columbia Army Air Base opened in 1941.
• The closest airport to Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport (CUB) is Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of CUB.
• The furthest airport from Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport (CUB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,515 miles (18,532 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport (CUB) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• 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.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.