Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Bristol Filton Airport (FZO), Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,183 miles (or 6,732 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 Ladd Army Airfield and Bristol Filton Airport, 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 Ladd Army Airfield and Bristol Filton Airport. 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 Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• Ladd was not exclusively an Air Force site.
• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Weather and Testing Units
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
• When the Air Force was made a separate branch in 1947 the name was changed to Ladd Air Force Base.
• From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska.
• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd 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.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• By the end of the war, 7,926 aircraft were ferried though Ladd Field.
• Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Facts about Bristol Filton Airport (FZO):

• Because of Bristol Filton Airport's relatively low elevation of 225 feet, planes can take off or land at Bristol Filton 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.
• In 1954 BAC opened a technical college for apprentices and trainees at the bottom of Filton Hill.
• Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The length of the runway and its closed-to-passengers status made it an ideal dispersion site for the nation's airborne nuclear deterrent during the Cold War.
• Aeroengine production started north of Filton Aerodrome, with the acquisition of Cosmos Engineering in 1920.
• The company grew rapidly during WWI, building thousands of Bristol Fighters and other aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Bristol Filton Airport", another name for FZO is "Filton Aerodrome".
• The closest airport to Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Bristol Airport (BRS), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSW of FZO.
• The furthest airport from Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,930 miles (19,200 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Before World War II, there were only grass runways at Filton.