Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Presque Isle, Maine, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle (PQI), Presque Isle, Maine, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,908 miles (or 4,680 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 Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle, 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 Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle. 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):

• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
• 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.
• 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 Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle (PQI):

• The closest airport to Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle (PQI) is Caribou Municipal Airport (CAR), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) N of PQI.
• The furthest airport from Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle (PQI) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,570 miles (18,620 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle (PQI) has 2 runways.
• Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle is a city-owned, public use airport located one nautical mile northwest of the central business district of Presque Isle, a city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States.
• When the United States Air Force closed Presque Isle Air Force Base in 1961, the former Air Force Base was redeveloped.
• Because of Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle's relatively low elevation of 534 feet, planes can take off or land at Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle 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.