Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Vidalia, Georgia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Vidalia Regional AirportVidalia-Lyons Army Airfield (VDI), Vidalia, Georgia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,128 miles (or 6,643 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 Vidalia Regional AirportVidalia-Lyons Army Airfield, 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 Vidalia Regional AirportVidalia-Lyons Army Airfield. 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.

Facts about Vidalia Regional AirportVidalia-Lyons Army Airfield (VDI):

• Vidalia Regional AirportVidalia-Lyons Army Airfield (VDI) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Vidalia Regional AirportVidalia-Lyons Army Airfield (VDI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,419 miles (18,377 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Vidalia Regional AirportVidalia-Lyons Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 275 feet, planes can take off or land at Vidalia Regional AirportVidalia-Lyons Army Airfield 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 airfield was opened to the public on 12 August 1940.
• The closest airport to Vidalia Regional AirportVidalia-Lyons Army Airfield (VDI) is Telfair-Wheeler Airport (MQW), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) WSW of VDI.