Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Beckley, West Virginia, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to BKW:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- BKW Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about BKW
- 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 BKW
- List of Nearest Airports to BKW
- Map of Furthest Airports from BKW
- List of Furthest Airports from BKW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW), Beckley, West Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,811 miles (or 6,132 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 Raleigh County Memorial 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 Raleigh County Memorial 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: | BKW / KBKW |
| Airport Name: | Raleigh County Memorial Airport |
| Location: | Beckley, West Virginia, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°47'13"N by 81°7'27"W |
| Area Served: | Beckley, West Virginia |
| Operator/Owner: | Raleigh County Airport Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 2504 feet (763 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BKW |
| More Information: | BKW Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
- 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
Facts about Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW):
- Raleigh County Memorial Airport covers an area of 1,433 acres at an elevation of 2,504 feet above mean sea level.
- Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) is Mercer County Airport (BLF), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) S of BKW.
- The furthest airport from Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,491 miles (18,494 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
