Nonstop flight route between Decatur, Illinois, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DEC to LKZ:
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- About this route
- DEC Airport Information
- LKZ Airport Information
- Facts about DEC
- Facts about LKZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to DEC
- List of Nearest Airports to DEC
- Map of Furthest Airports from DEC
- List of Furthest Airports from DEC
- Map of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- List of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from LKZ
- List of Furthest Airports from LKZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Decatur Airport (DEC), Decatur, Illinois, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,089 miles (or 6,581 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 Decatur Airport and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Decatur Airport and RAF Lakenheath. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DEC / KDEC |
Airport Name: | Decatur Airport |
Location: | Decatur, Illinois, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°50'3"N by 88°51'56"W |
Area Served: | Decatur, Illinois |
Operator/Owner: | Decatur Park District |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 682 feet (208 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from DEC |
More Information: | DEC Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LKZ / EGUL |
Airport Name: | RAF Lakenheath |
Location: | Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°24'29"N by 0°33'24"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from LKZ |
More Information: | LKZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Decatur Airport (DEC):
- Decatur Airport covers 2,100 acres at an elevation of 682 feet.
- The Illinois Army National Guard has an Army Aviation Support Facility at the airport.
- The closest airport to Decatur Airport (DEC) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) ENE of DEC.
- The furthest airport from Decatur Airport (DEC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,056 miles (17,793 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Decatur Airport's relatively low elevation of 682 feet, planes can take off or land at Decatur 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.
- Decatur Airport (DEC) has 3 runways.
- Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 1,232 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 672 in 2009 and 2,456 in 2010.
Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):
- The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
- The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.
- On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
- Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2s were airlifted to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A.