Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Simikot, Nepal:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to IMK:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- IMK Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about IMK
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to IMK
- List of Nearest Airports to IMK
- Map of Furthest Airports from IMK
- List of Furthest Airports from IMK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Simikot Airport (IMK), Simikot, Nepal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,363 miles (or 7,021 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 Simikot 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 Simikot Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | IMK / VNST |
Airport Name: | Simikot Airport |
Location: | Simikot, Nepal |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°58'15"N by 81°49'8"E |
Area Served: | Simikot, Nepal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 9246 feet (2,818 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from IMK |
More Information: | IMK Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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 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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Simikot Airport (IMK):
- The closest airport to Simikot Airport (IMK) is Bajura Airport (BJU), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) SSW of IMK.
- Because of Simikot Airport's high elevation of 9,246 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at IMK. Combined with a high temperature, this could make IMK a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Pilgrims and Trekkers bound for Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash in China's Tibet Autonomous Region fly into Simikot and proceed to the international border at Hilsa on foot or by helicopter.
- The furthest airport from Simikot Airport (IMK) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.