Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Riverside, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL), Riverside, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,358 miles (or 8,624 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 Riverside Municipal 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 Riverside Municipal 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):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.

Facts about Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL):

• The furthest airport from Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,462 miles (18,446 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Riverside Municipal Airport has been home to Civil Air Patrol Squadron 5 since 2005.
• The runway has ILS, GPS, and VOR approaches.
• Because of Riverside Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 818 feet, planes can take off or land at Riverside Municipal 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 closest airport to Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NE of RAL.
• Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) has 2 runways.