Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Midland, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF), Midland, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,929 miles (or 7,932 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 Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield, 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 Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield. 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF):

• Midland Army Air Field was home to the Army Air Forces Bombardier School, one of a dozen bombardier-training schools.
• Until the September 11th attacks, everyone was allowed into the second floor.
• The closest airport to Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF) is Midland Airpark (MDD), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NE of MAF.
• Midland International Airport is a city-owned airport nine miles southwest of Midland, a city in Midland County, Texas, northeast of Odessa.
• Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF) has 4 runways.
• The first group of cadets, Class 42–6, arrived for training from Ellington, Texas, on February 6, 1942.
• The furthest airport from Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,209 miles (18,038 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Prominent businessmen in Midland could foresee the possibility of a military base in West Texas and in 1940 they started promoting the airport for use as a training base to the military establishment in Washington.