Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Hemet, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT), Hemet, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,357 miles (or 8,621 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 Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field, 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 Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field. 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.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• 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.
• 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.

Facts about Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT):

• The closest airport to Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT) is Banning Municipal Airport (BNG), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NE of HMT.
• Ryan Air Attack is a joint Air Attack / Helitack base operated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
• Construction of the new facility was set to begin in 2008, however, as of 2010, Cal Fire is still waiting for the promised state funds to become available.
• The furthest airport from Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,471 miles (18,460 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 1992 Cal Fire acquired several of the larger Bell UH-1H helicopters with Hemet-Ryan Helitack receiving one of the first buildups.
• Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT) has 2 runways.
• The airport was inactivated in December 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program, the airfield was declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers.