Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT), Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,485 miles (or 5,609 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 Williamsport Regional 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 Williamsport Regional 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):

• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT):

• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 23,901 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 19,834 in 2009 and 22,519 in 2010.
• Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,608 miles (18,682 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT) is William T. Piper Memorial Airport (LHV), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) WSW of IPT.
• Because of Williamsport Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 528 feet, planes can take off or land at Williamsport Regional 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.
• The Williamsport Regional Association of Pilots holds a Fly-In every June.