Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Hualien Airport (HUN), Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,188 miles (or 9,959 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 Hualien Airport, 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 Hualien Airport. 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Hualien Airport (HUN):

• Because of Hualien Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Hualien Airport 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.
• In addition to being known as "Hualien Airport", other names for HUN include "花蓮航空站花蓮機場" and "Huālián HángkōngzhànHuālián Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Hualien Airport (HUN) is Clorinda Airport (CLX), which is nearly antipodal to Hualien Airport (meaning Hualien Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clorinda Airport), and is located 12,339 miles (19,858 kilometers) away in Clorinda, Formosa, Argentina.
• Hualien Airport (HUN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Hualien Airport (HUN) is Taichung Airport(Taichung Ching Chuan Kang Airport) (RMQ), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WNW of HUN.
• On April 27, 2001, Hualien Airport became certified to serve international flights, specifically charter flights to and from Japan.
• The airport is accessible within walking distance South East of Beipu Station of the Taiwan Railway Administration.