Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Center Island, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to CWS:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- CWS Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about CWS
- 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 CWS
- List of Nearest Airports to CWS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CWS
- List of Furthest Airports from CWS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Center Island Airport (CWS), Center Island, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,694 miles (or 7,554 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 Center Island 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 Center Island 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: | CWS / |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Center Island, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 48°29'24"N by 122°49'54"W |
Operator/Owner: | Center Island Association |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 115 feet (35 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CWS |
More Information: | CWS Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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 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.
- 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 runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
- 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.
Facts about Center Island Airport (CWS):
- The closest airport to Center Island Airport (CWS) is Fishermans Bay/LPS Seaplane Base (LPS), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) WNW of CWS.
- In addition to being known as "Center Island Airport", another name for CWS is "78WA".
- Because of Center Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 115 feet, planes can take off or land at Center Island 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.
- The furthest airport from Center Island Airport (CWS) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,724 miles (17,259 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Center Island Airport (CWS) currently has only 1 runway.