Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB), Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,713 miles (or 5,975 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 Ann Arbor Municipal 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 Ann Arbor Municipal 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 RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.

Facts about Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB):

• The current runaway "requires pilots to make a much steeper descent than recommended by the Federal Aviation Administration" and five planes have overrun the runway since 2000.
• Because of Ann Arbor Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 839 feet, planes can take off or land at Ann Arbor Municipal 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.
• Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,266 miles (18,131 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB) is Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of ARB.
• The airport's current annual budget is around $800,000, which the city makes by renting hangars and imposing a small fuel surcharge.