Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and San Diego, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from FFD to NKX:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- NKX Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about NKX
- 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 NKX
- List of Nearest Airports to NKX
- Map of Furthest Airports from NKX
- List of Furthest Airports from NKX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and MCAS Miramar, (NKX), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,410 miles (or 8,706 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 MCAS Miramar,, 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 MCAS Miramar,. 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: | NKX / KNKX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°52'4"N by 117°8'30"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Marine Corps |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 478 feet (146 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NKX |
More Information: | NKX Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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.
Facts about MCAS Miramar, (NKX):
- The furthest airport from MCAS Miramar, (NKX) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,530 miles (18,556 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- To lessen the noise impact to the community, MCAS Miramar has made adjustments to their operations over the years, including the use of hush-houses, limitations on engine run-ups, and modification to flight plans.
- In addition to being known as "MCAS Miramar,", another name for NKX is "Mitscher Field".
- On 30 January 2010 a new National Cemetery was dedicated at the northwest corner of MCAS Miramar.
- MCAS Miramar, (NKX) has 3 runways.
- In 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that Marine Corps Air Station El Toro and Marine Corps Air Station Tustin be closed down and that NAS Miramar be transferred to the Marine Corps.
- The closest airport to MCAS Miramar, (NKX) is Montgomery Field (MYF), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) S of NKX.
- During the 1930s, the Navy briefly used the air base for helium dirigibles.
- In 2005, the BRAC Commission directed instructor pilots and support personnel from Miramar to Eglin AFB in Florida, sufficient to stand up the Marine Corps' portion of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Program Training Site.
- Because of MCAS Miramar,'s relatively low elevation of 478 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS Miramar, 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.