Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Moline, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Quad City International Airport (MLI), Moline, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,008 miles (or 6,451 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 Quad City International 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 Quad City International 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):

• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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 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.

Facts about Quad City International Airport (MLI):

• Because of Quad City International Airport's relatively low elevation of 590 feet, planes can take off or land at Quad City International 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 furthest airport from Quad City International Airport (MLI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,950 miles (17,623 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport set its passenger record in 2007 when 484,212 passengers boarded flights while 481,930 deplaned.
• There are two hotels on the airport property across the parking lot from the terminal.
• The closest airport to Quad City International Airport (MLI) is Davenport Municipal Airport (DVN), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNW of MLI.
• Quad City International Airport (MLI) has 3 runways.
• Quad City International Airport is a public airport in Rock Island County, Illinois, three miles south of Moline.
• Quad City is the third-busiest commercial airport in Illinois – Chicago's O'Hare and Midway International Airports lead the state.