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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (GSB), Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,795 miles (or 6,107 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 Seymour Johnson 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 Seymour Johnson 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.

Facts about Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (GSB):

• The 414th Fighter Group is an active United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command and operationally gained by Air Combat Command.
• Interestingly, the namesake of the base, Seymour Johnson, was never part of the Air Force.
• After the airfield's closure in 1947, local community leaders campaigned for many years to reopen Seymour Johnson.
• The furthest airport from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (GSB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,689 miles (18,811 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• As the war in Southeast Asia heated up in the late summer of 1964, the 4th TFW was alerted for deployment to the Far East.
• The 4th Fighter Wing, one of the Air Force's most distinguished fighter wings, moved to Seymour Johnson on 8 December 1957 from Chitose Air Base, Japan, replacing the 83d Fighter-Day Wing, and has been the host unit ever since.
• The closest airport to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (GSB) is Kinston Regional Jetport (ISO), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of GSB.
• In addition to being known as "Seymour Johnson Air Force Base", another name for GSB is "Seymour Johnson AFB".