Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Yakima, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT), Yakima, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,732 miles (or 7,616 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 Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft), 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 Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft). 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):

• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.

Facts about Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT):

• Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT) is Yakima Air Terminal (YKM), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) SSW of FCT.