Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and United States Air Force Academy (AFF), Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,655 miles (or 7,492 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 United States Air Force Academy, 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 United States Air Force Academy. 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 RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.

Facts about United States Air Force Academy (AFF):

• The main buildings in the Cadet Area are set around a large, square pavilion known as ‘‘the Terrazzo’‘.
• The Cadet Honor Code is the cornerstone of a cadet's professional training and development – the minimum standard of ethical conduct that cadets expect of themselves and their fellow cadets.
• The Class of 1959 established many other important traditions that continue until the present.
• The closest airport to United States Air Force Academy (AFF) is City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of AFF.
• The furthest airport from United States Air Force Academy (AFF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,934 miles (17,596 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Many displays around the Cadet Area commemorate heroes and air power pioneers, and serve as an inspiration to cadets.
• The Vietnam War was the first war in which Academy graduates fought and died.
• The ‘‘Core Values Ramp’‘ leads down from the main Terrazzo level toward the parade field.