Nonstop flight route between Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States and Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FCM to BZZ:
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- About this route
- FCM Airport Information
- BZZ Airport Information
- Facts about FCM
- Facts about BZZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to FCM
- List of Nearest Airports to FCM
- Map of Furthest Airports from FCM
- List of Furthest Airports from FCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to BZZ
- List of Nearest Airports to BZZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from BZZ
- List of Furthest Airports from BZZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Flying Cloud Airport (FCM), Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States and RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,964 miles (or 6,379 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 Flying Cloud Airport and RAF Brize Norton, 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 Flying Cloud Airport and RAF Brize Norton. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FCM / KFCM |
Airport Name: | Flying Cloud Airport |
Location: | Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°49'37"N by 93°27'25"W |
Operator/Owner: | Metropolitan Airports Commission |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 906 feet (276 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from FCM |
More Information: | FCM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BZZ / EGVN |
Airport Name: | RAF Brize Norton |
Location: | Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°45'0"N by 1°35'0"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from BZZ |
More Information: | BZZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Flying Cloud Airport (FCM):
- The closest airport to Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) ENE of FCM.
- Because of Flying Cloud Airport's relatively low elevation of 906 feet, planes can take off or land at Flying Cloud 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 furthest airport from Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,748 miles (17,297 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) has 3 runways.
Facts about RAF Brize Norton (BZZ):
- The station is home to the Administrative Wing, Airport of Embarkation Wing, Depth Support Wing, Forward Support Wing and Operations Wing.
- The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
- By the 1950s Cold War tension was escalating and the United States envisaged stationing nuclear bombers in the United Kingdom as a deterrent to Soviet aggression.
- The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- Brize Norton is already a major airbase for the RAF's transport fleet.
- By 1950 the USAF Strategic Air Command was based at RAF Lakenheath, RAF Marham, and RAF Sculthorpe.