Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and First Flight Airport (FFA), Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,668 miles (or 5,903 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 First Flight 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 First Flight Airport. 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):

• 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.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.

Facts about First Flight Airport (FFA):

• First Flight Airport covers an area of 40 acres at an elevation of 13 feet above mean sea level.
• First Flight Airport (FFA) currently has only 1 runway.
• First Flight Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile west of the central business district of Kill Devil Hills, a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States.
• The furthest airport from First Flight Airport (FFA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,810 miles (19,007 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On December 17, 1903 the first successful powered heavier-than-air aircraft flight occurred here, conducted by the Wright brothers.
• The closest airport to First Flight Airport (FFA) is Dare County Regional Airport (MEO), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of FFA.
• Because of First Flight Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at First Flight 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.