Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Charles City, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Northeast Iowa Regional Airport (CCY), Charles City, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,010 miles (or 6,454 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 Northeast Iowa Regional 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 Northeast Iowa Regional 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):

• 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 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Northeast Iowa Regional Airport (CCY):

• The closest airport to Northeast Iowa Regional Airport (CCY) is Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) W of CCY.
• The furthest airport from Northeast Iowa Regional Airport (CCY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,820 miles (17,413 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Northeast Iowa Regional Airport (CCY) has 3 runways.