Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Carlsbad, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD), Carlsbad, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,400 miles (or 8,690 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 McClellan–Palomar 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 McClellan–Palomar 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 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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 McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD):

• The closest airport to McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) is Bob Maxwell Field (Oceanside Municipal Airport) (OCN), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of CLD.
• McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Previous airline service to the airport includes American Eagle to Los Angeles and America West Express to Phoenix.
• In addition to being known as "McClellan–Palomar Airport", another name for CLD is "CRQ".
• The furthest airport from McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,512 miles (18,527 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• It opened a $24 million airline terminal on January 29, 2009.
• Because of McClellan–Palomar Airport's relatively low elevation of 331 feet, planes can take off or land at McClellan–Palomar 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.
• McClellan–Palomar Airport covers 466 acres and has one asphalt runway, 6/24, 4,897 ft × 150 ft.