Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Port Angeles, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and CGAS Port Angeles (NOW), Port Angeles, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,729 miles (or 7,611 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 CGAS Port Angeles, 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 CGAS Port Angeles. 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):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 CGAS Port Angeles (NOW):

• The furthest airport from CGAS Port Angeles (NOW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,757 miles (17,311 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to CGAS Port Angeles (NOW) is William R. Fairchild International AirportPort Angeles Army Airfield (CLM), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NOW.
• The Coast Guard’s presence in Port Angeles began 136 years ago on August 1, 1862 with the arrival of the SHUBRICK, the first Revenue Cutter to be home ported on the Olympic Peninsula.
• Air Station Port Angeles is the US Coast Guard's oldest operational air station, in operation since 1935 and today supports three MH-65C Dolphin helicopters, which have been operating at the station since 1984.
• At Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles there are no housing facilities available for crew and officers, so renting accommodation in Port Angeles is the only option.
• Because of CGAS Port Angeles's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at CGAS Port Angeles 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.