Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Wichita, Kansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Beech Factory Airport (BEC), Wichita, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,444 miles (or 7,152 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 Beech Factory 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 Beech Factory 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):

• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.

Facts about Beech Factory Airport (BEC):

• The airport was founded in 1928 as part of a 148 acre land tract purchased from the city to house the Knoll Aircraft Company.
• Beech Factory Airport covers an area of 1,280 acres at an elevation of 1,408 feet above mean sea level.
• Beech Factory Airport (BEC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Beech Factory Airport (BEC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,735 miles (17,276 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Beech Factory Airport (BEC) is Cessna Aircraft Field (CEA), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) SSW of BEC.