Nonstop flight route between Crestview, Florida, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Duke FieldEglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3 (EGI), Crestview, Florida, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,375 miles (or 7,041 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 Duke FieldEglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3 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 Duke FieldEglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3 and RAF Fairford. 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 Duke FieldEglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3 (EGI):

• With the conversion of the 919th Tactical Airlift Group in 1971 to the 919th Special Operations Group as the only Air Force Reserve AC-130 Spectre gunship unit on 1 July 1975, nearly $6.7 million in new construction was programmed at Duke Field through Fiscal Year 1976.
• The closest airport to Duke FieldEglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3 (EGI) is Bob Sikes Airport (CEW), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) N of EGI.
• The furthest airport from Duke FieldEglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3 (EGI) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,172 miles (17,980 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the 1950s, Duke Field became home to the 3205th Drone Group, which operated radio remote-controlled B-17s and F-80s that were used for gunnery and missile practice over the Gulf of Mexico.
• Between August and October 1970, during the Vietnam War, the Joint Contingency Task Group used AFROTC facilities at Duke Field to house US Army Special Forces troops involved in Operation Ivory Coast, a mission to rescue prisoners of war at Sơn Tây, North Vietnam.
• In addition to being known as "Duke FieldEglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3", another name for EGI is "Duke Field".
• Although technically part of the larger nearby Eglin Air Force Base complex, today Duke Field is essentially a small air force base in its own right.
• In 1983, operational claimancy for the 919 SOG shifted from TAC to MAC and its newly established 23d Air Force, said action paralleling the transfer of all Regular Air Force AC-130 and MC-130 units and assets from TAC to MAC.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
• 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.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.