Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Gbadolite, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Gbadolite Airport (BDT), Gbadolite, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,529 miles (or 5,679 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 Gbadolite 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 Gbadolite 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• 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 Gbadolite Airport (BDT):

• In addition to being known as "Gbadolite Airport", other names for BDT include "Aéroport de Gbadolite" and "Gbadolite Airport".
• The furthest airport from Gbadolite Airport (BDT) is Manihiki Island Airport (MHX), which is located 11,992 miles (19,300 kilometers) away in Manihiki Island, Cook Islands.
• Gbadolite Airport (BDT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Gbadolite Airport (BDT) is Bambari Airport (BBY), which is located 112 miles (181 kilometers) NNW of BDT.