Nonstop flight route between Mercury, Nevada, United States and St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from DRA to ADX:
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- About this route
- DRA Airport Information
- ADX Airport Information
- Facts about DRA
- Facts about ADX
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRA
- List of Nearest Airports to DRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRA
- List of Furthest Airports from DRA
- Map of Nearest Airports to ADX
- List of Nearest Airports to ADX
- Map of Furthest Airports from ADX
- List of Furthest Airports from ADX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Desert Rock Airport (DRA), Mercury, Nevada, United States and RAF Leuchars (ADX), St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,921 miles (or 7,920 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 Desert Rock Airport and RAF Leuchars, 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 Desert Rock Airport and RAF Leuchars. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DRA / KDRA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Mercury, Nevada, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°37'9"N by 116°1'58"W |
Operator/Owner: | Mercury, Nevada |
Airport Type: | United States Department of Energy/Nevada |
Elevation: | 1010 feet (308 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DRA |
More Information: | DRA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ADX / EGQL |
Airport Name: | RAF Leuchars |
Location: | St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 56°22'23"N by 2°52'6"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from ADX |
More Information: | ADX Maps & Info |
Facts about Desert Rock Airport (DRA):
- In addition to being known as "Desert Rock Airport", another name for DRA is "NV65".
- The closest airport to Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Creech Air Force Base Indian Springs Auxiliary Army Airfield (1961) Indian Springs Air Force Base (1951) Indian Springs Army Airfield Indian Springs Airport eponyms: Indian Springs, Nevada &Wilbur L. Creech[1] (INS), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of DRA.
- The furthest airport from Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,271 miles (18,139 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Desert Rock Airport (DRA) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about RAF Leuchars (ADX):
- As the Cold War reached its frostiest depths in the 1960s the development of long range aircraft allowed the Soviets regular incursion into British air space.
- The furthest airport from RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,678 miles (18,793 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
- The unit was formally named 'Royal Air Force Leuchars' in March 1920, but nevertheless retained its strong naval links.
- Royal Air Force station Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is the second most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom.
- On 18 July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced that RAF Leuchars would close, whilst RAF Lossiemouth in Moray would be spared as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
- During Second World War, British Overseas Airways Corporation formed in November 1939 from Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd operated a wartime route from RAF Leuchars to Stockholm.
- Like so many RAF stations, the airfield itself owes its existence to the stimulus of war, and work began on levelling the existing site on Reres Farm in 1916.
- The closest airport to RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Dundee Airport (DND), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NW of ADX.