Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fort Rucker, Dale County, Alabama, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP) (HEY), Fort Rucker, Dale County, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,305 miles (or 6,928 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 Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP), 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 Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP). 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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 Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP) (HEY):

• The closest airport to Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP) (HEY) is Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) (LOR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) W of HEY.
• In addition to being known as "Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP)", other names for HEY include "Hanchey Army Heliport" and "Fort Rucker".
• The furthest airport from Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP) (HEY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,218 miles (18,054 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP) (HEY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP)'s relatively low elevation of 317 feet, planes can take off or land at Hanchey Army Heliport (AHP) 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.