Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Waco, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to ACT:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- ACT Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about ACT
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to ACT
- List of Nearest Airports to ACT
- Map of Furthest Airports from ACT
- List of Furthest Airports from ACT
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Waco Regional Airport (ACT), Waco, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,756 miles (or 7,653 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 RAF Fairford and Waco Regional 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 RAF Fairford and Waco Regional Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | ACT / KACT |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Waco, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°36'41"N by 97°13'50"W |
| Area Served: | Waco, Texas |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Waco |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 516 feet (157 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from ACT |
| More Information: | ACT Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- 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 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.
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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.
- RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
Facts about Waco Regional Airport (ACT):
- Airline flights began in the 1940s.
- The closest airport to Waco Regional Airport (ACT) is TSTC Waco Airport (CNW), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ENE of ACT.
- Waco Regional Airport (ACT) has 2 runways.
- It was first a glider training school and in October 1942 Blackland was assigned to the AAF Gulf Coast Training Center, with the Army Air Force Pilot School activated.
- Because of Waco Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 516 feet, planes can take off or land at Waco Regional 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 Waco Regional Airport (ACT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- In addition to being known as "Waco Regional Airport", another name for ACT is "Blackland AAF".
- Flying training at the airfield ended on 4 February 1945 and it became a sub-base of Waco Army Airfield.
