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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), Olympia, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,782 miles (or 7,696 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 Olympia Regional 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 Olympia Regional 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• 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.

Facts about Olympia Regional Airport (OLM):

• Because of Olympia Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 209 feet, planes can take off or land at Olympia Regional 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 field is home to flight instruction, both fixed wing and helicopter, major oxygen and aircraft maintenance facilities, the Washington State Patrol aviation division, and a key navigational aid for commercial flights inbound to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and general aviation aircraft in the region.
• An FAA funded $15 million improvement project to make the airport a safer facility was completed in September, 2008, focusing on runway line-of-sight improvements and enhanced signage.
• The furthest airport from Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,822 miles (17,417 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "Olympia Regional Airport", another name for OLM is "Olympia Army Airfield".
• Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of OLM.