Nonstop flight route between Mercury, Nevada, United States and Braintree, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DRA to WXF:
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- About this route
- DRA Airport Information
- WXF Airport Information
- Facts about DRA
- Facts about WXF
- 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 WXF
- List of Nearest Airports to WXF
- Map of Furthest Airports from WXF
- List of Furthest Airports from WXF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Desert Rock Airport (DRA), Mercury, Nevada, United States and MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,222 miles (or 8,404 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 MDPGA Wethersfield, 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 MDPGA Wethersfield. 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: |
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| 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: | WXF / EGVT |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Braintree, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°58'26"N by 0°30'21"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| Airport Type: | Military airfield, private airfield |
| Elevation: | 322 feet (98 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WXF |
| More Information: | WXF Maps & Info |
Facts about Desert Rock Airport (DRA):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Desert Rock Airport", another name for DRA is "NV65".
Facts about MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):
- In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
- The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.
- The furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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.
- The fighter squadrons of the 20th had been in constant rotation since the arrival of the wing at Wethersfield in 1952.
- The 819th, along with the 2166th Communications Squadron, were the main units at Wethersfeld until the USAF returned the base to the British in 1990 due to budget cutbacks.
- During the late 1940s the base was used as a winter camping ground for Chipperfield's Circus.
- The group returned to the United States in July 1945 and was inactivated at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, on 23 October 1945.
- MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
- Wethersfield was allocated by the RAF to the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force in August 1942.
