Nonstop flight route between Needles, California, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from EED to FFD:
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- About this route
- EED Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about EED
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to EED
- List of Nearest Airports to EED
- Map of Furthest Airports from EED
- List of Furthest Airports from EED
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield (EED), Needles, California, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,219 miles (or 8,399 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 Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield 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 Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | EED / KEED |
Airport Name: | Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield |
Location: | Needles, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°45'59"N by 114°37'23"W |
Area Served: | Needles, California |
Operator/Owner: | County of San Bernardino |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 983 feet (300 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from EED |
More Information: | EED Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Facts about Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield (EED):
- In the year ending February 17, 2006 the airport had 10,500 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 28 per day.
- Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield (EED) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield (EED) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,392 miles (18,334 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The closest airport to Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield (EED) is Lake Havasu City Airport (HII), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) SE of EED.
- Because of Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 983 feet, planes can take off or land at Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield 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.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- 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.
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
- 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.
- 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.