Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Pompano Beach, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Pompano Beach Airpark (PPM), Pompano Beach, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,328 miles (or 6,965 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 Pompano Beach Airpark, 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 Pompano Beach Airpark. 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 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.

Facts about Pompano Beach Airpark (PPM):

• The Goodyear Blimp Spirit of Innovation is based out of Pompano Beach Airpark.
• The furthest airport from Pompano Beach Airpark (PPM) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,587 miles (18,648 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Pompano Beach Airpark (PPM) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Pompano Beach Airpark (PPM) is Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SW of PPM.
• In addition to being known as "Pompano Beach Airpark", another name for PPM is "PMP".
• Because of Pompano Beach Airpark's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Pompano Beach Airpark 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.
• Additional lands surrounding the Air Park, including land along Copans Road and the Florida East Coast Railway tracks to the west of the Air Park, were transferred to the City on June 24, 1948, bringing the total acreage at the Air Park to 1,035 acres.