Nonstop flight route between Derby, Western Australia, Australia and Alconbury, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Derby Airport (DRB), Derby, Western Australia, Australia and RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,578 miles (or 13,805 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 Derby Airport and RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102, 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 Derby Airport and RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102. 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 Derby Airport (DRB):

• The furthest airport from Derby Airport (DRB) is Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport (PTP), which is nearly antipodal to Derby Airport (meaning Derby Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport), and is located 12,085 miles (19,449 kilometers) away in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.
• Because of Derby Airport's relatively low elevation of 24 feet, planes can take off or land at Derby 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.
• The closest airport to Derby Airport (DRB) is Broome International Airport (BME), which is located 102 miles (165 kilometers) WSW of DRB.
• Derby Airport (DRB) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):

• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• The furthest airport from RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The host unit at RAF Alconbury is the 423rd Air Base Group which supplies host unit services for Alconbury as well as RAF Molesworth.
• In late 1940/41, an expansion of RAF Alconbury commenced to upgrade its facilities from a satellite airfield to a fully operational one.
• The first American Eighth Air Force unit to take residence at RAF Alconbury was the 93d Bombardment Group, known as the "Travelling Circus" from Fort Myers AAF, Florida on 7 September 1942.
• Satellite bases were considered one answer to this threat – a landing ground within reasonable road travel distance of the parent airfield to which aircraft could be diverted if the home station was bombed or likely to be attacked.
• This was the time of the Blitz, when many parts of Britain were being subjected to an almost nightly series of heavy air raids.