Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Christiansted, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base (SSB), Christiansted, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,109 miles (or 6,612 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 Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base, 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 Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base. 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.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.

Facts about Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base (SSB):

• In addition to being known as "Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base", other names for SSB include "St. Croix Seaplane Base", "none" and "VI32".
• Because of Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base 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.
• Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base (SSB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base (SSB) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base (meaning Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,221 miles (19,668 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base (SSB) is Henry E. Rohlsen International Airport (STX), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) WSW of SSB.