Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Marthas Vineyard Airport (MVY), Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,221 miles (or 5,184 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 Marthas Vineyard 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 Marthas Vineyard 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.

Facts about Marthas Vineyard Airport (MVY):

• Because of Marthas Vineyard Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Marthas Vineyard 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 Marthas Vineyard Airport (MVY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,834 miles (19,045 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The new terminal building, constructed in 2001, replaced an older wooden structure that was the original base operations building.
• The closest airport to Marthas Vineyard Airport (MVY) is Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NNE of MVY.
• Marthas Vineyard Airport (MVY) has 2 runways.
• The airfield was built in 1942 as Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Martha's Vineyard to support training of naval aviators prior to their deployment to aircraft carriers in the Pacific Theater.