Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and RAF Gütersloh (GUT), Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 431 miles (or 694 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 relatively short distance between RAF Fairford and RAF Gütersloh, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• 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.

Facts about RAF Gütersloh (GUT):

• The closest airport to RAF Gütersloh (GUT) is Paderborn Lippstadt Airport (PAD), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) SSE of GUT.
• Because of RAF Gütersloh's relatively low elevation of 236 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Gütersloh 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.
• During its history as an RAF station, it was home to two squadrons of the English Electric Lightning F2/F2A - No.
• The furthest airport from RAF Gütersloh (GUT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,835 miles (19,046 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The station was captured by the Americans in April 1945 and designated as "Advanced Landing Ground Y-99".
• RAF Gütersloh (GUT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Following the withdrawal by the Royal Air Force in 1993, the base became a British Army Garrison, called the Princess Royal Barracks, Gütersloh, a base for British Army helicopters, and Royal Logistic Corps Regiments.