Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Tambor, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Tambor Airport (TMU), Tambor, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,402 miles (or 8,694 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 Tambor 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 Tambor 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):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Tambor Airport (TMU):

• The furthest airport from Tambor Airport (TMU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Tambor Airport (meaning Tambor Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,226 miles (19,676 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Tambor Airport (TMU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tambor Airport (TMU) is Punta Islita Airport (PBP), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WNW of TMU.
• Because of Tambor Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Tambor 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.