Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Spencer, Iowa, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from FFD to SPW:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- SPW Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about SPW
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to SPW
- List of Nearest Airports to SPW
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPW
- List of Furthest Airports from SPW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW), Spencer, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,101 miles (or 6,599 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 Spencer 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 Spencer Municipal Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SPW / KSPW |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Spencer, Iowa, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°9'56"N by 95°12'10"W |
Area Served: | Spencer, Iowa |
Operator/Owner: | City of Spencer |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1339 feet (408 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SPW |
More Information: | SPW Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
Facts about Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW):
- The furthest airport from Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,691 miles (17,206 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Inactivated during 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
- In addition to being known as "Spencer Municipal Airport", another name for SPW is "Northwest Iowa Regional AirportSpencer Army Airfield".
- The closest airport to Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW) is Jackson Municipal Airport (MJQ), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SPW.
- The airport is not served by any commercial airlines at this time but it was once the home of Great Lakes Airlines.
- Spencer Municipal Airport, also known as Northwest Iowa Regional Airport, is a public airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Spencer, a city in Clay County, Iowa, United States.
- Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW) has 2 runways.