Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base (FLV), Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,275 miles (or 6,879 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 Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force 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 Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force 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):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base (FLV):

• In addition to being known as "Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base", another name for FLV is "Sherman AAF".
• The furthest airport from Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base (FLV) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,739 miles (17,283 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• As late as May 1944 Sherman had only 25 planes, most of which were trainers and none models then used in combat.
• Over the years Sherman saw a dazzling array of visitors, usually drawn there to transact business or attend ceremonies at Fort Leavenworth.
• After World War II operations at Sherman sank again to a small scale.
• The closest airport to Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base (FLV) is Kansas City International Airport (MCI), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ESE of FLV.
• Sherman Army Airfield is an airport located at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in Leavenworth County, Kansas.
• A hangar for the base was built in 1932.