Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Excursion Inlet, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base (EXI), Excursion Inlet, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,396 miles (or 7,075 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 Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base, 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 Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base. 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 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base (EXI):

• The furthest airport from Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base (EXI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,536 miles (16,956 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base (EXI) is Gustavus Airport (GST), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of EXI.
• Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base has one seaplane landing area designated NW/SE with a water surface measuring 1,000 by 1,000 feet.
• Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base (EXI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Excursion Inlet Seaplane Base 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.