Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Diomede, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to DIO:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- DIO Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about DIO
- 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 DIO
- List of Nearest Airports to DIO
- Map of Furthest Airports from DIO
- List of Furthest Airports from DIO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO), Diomede, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,294 miles (or 6,911 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 Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2), 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 Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2). 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: | DIO / |
Airport Name: | Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) |
Location: | Diomede, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 65°45'29"N by 168°57'6"W |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from DIO |
More Information: | DIO Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- 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.
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
Facts about Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO):
- There is no hospital on the island and emergency services are limited due to the remoteness of the island.
- The closest airport to Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO) is Wales Airport (WAA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of DIO.
- In the city the population was spread out with 43.8% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older.
- An electric system was built on the island in the 1970s and electricity is provided by city-operated Diomede Joint Utilities.
- Because of Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2)'s relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) 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 Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,411 miles (16,755 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- The first non-native to reach the Diomede Islands was a Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648.
- According to traveler John Muir, on his visit to Diomede Islands in 1880s they found the natives eager to trade away everything they had.