Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Show Low, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Show Low Regional Airport (SOW), Show Low, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,088 miles (or 8,189 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 Show Low 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 Show Low 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):

• 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.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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 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.

Facts about Show Low Regional Airport (SOW):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 5,325 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 4,470 enplanements in 2009, and 3,080 in 2010.
• Show Low Regional Airport (SOW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Show Low Regional Airport (SOW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,355 miles (18,274 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Show Low Regional Airport (SOW) is Taylor Airport (TYZ), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NNW of SOW.
• Because of Show Low Regional Airport's high elevation of 6,415 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SOW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SOW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.