Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fakarava, Society Islands, French Polynesia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to FAV:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- FAV Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about FAV
- 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 FAV
- List of Nearest Airports to FAV
- Map of Furthest Airports from FAV
- List of Furthest Airports from FAV
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fakarava Airport (FAV), Fakarava, Society Islands, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,278 miles (or 14,932 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 Fakarava 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 Fakarava 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: | FAV / NTGF |
Airport Name: | Fakarava Airport |
Location: | Fakarava, Society Islands, French Polynesia |
GPS Coordinates: | 16°3'15"S by 145°39'24"W |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from FAV |
More Information: | FAV Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
- 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.
- 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
Facts about Fakarava Airport (FAV):
- Because of Fakarava Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Fakarava 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 Fakarava Airport (FAV) is Atbara Airport (ATB), which is nearly antipodal to Fakarava Airport (meaning Fakarava Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atbara Airport), and is located 12,321 miles (19,828 kilometers) away in Atbara, Sudan.
- The closest airport to Fakarava Airport (FAV) is Apataki Airport (APK), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) WNW of FAV.