Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Simmons Army Airfield (FBG), Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,845 miles (or 6,188 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 Simmons Army Airfield, 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 Simmons Army Airfield. 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle 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 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.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.

Facts about Simmons Army Airfield (FBG):

• Simmons Army Airfield (FBG) currently has only 1 runway.
• On May 1953 Fort Bragg engineers completed final plans for an expanded field and started construction the next summer.
• The furthest airport from Simmons Army Airfield (FBG) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,634 miles (18,723 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• By 1976 Simmons had 176 aircraft assigned and 375 flights operations a day.
• Because of Simmons Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 244 feet, planes can take off or land at Simmons Army Airfield 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.
• In the early 1960s Fort Bragg and Simmons played an important role in emerging air mobility.
• Simmons AAF has one runway designated 9/27 with an asphalt surface measuring 4,650 by 110 feet.
• The closest airport to Simmons Army Airfield (FBG) is Pope Field (POB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) WNW of FBG.