Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Van Nuys, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to VNY:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- VNY Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about VNY
- 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 VNY
- List of Nearest Airports to VNY
- Map of Furthest Airports from VNY
- List of Furthest Airports from VNY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Van Nuys Airport (VNY), Van Nuys, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,378 miles (or 8,655 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 Van Nuys 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 Van Nuys 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: | VNY / KVNY |
Airport Name: | Van Nuys Airport |
Location: | Van Nuys, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°12'34"N by 118°29'23"W |
Area Served: | Los Angeles, California |
Operator/Owner: | Los Angeles World Airports |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 802 feet (244 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from VNY |
More Information: | VNY Maps & Info |
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.
- The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
- 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 Van Nuys Airport (VNY):
- A major part of the science fiction classic Silent Running was filmed at the Van Nuys Airport in March 1971.
- Van Nuys Airport (VNY) has 2 runways.
- Most news helicopters from the Los Angeles area are based at Van Nuys Airport.
- Because of Van Nuys Airport's relatively low elevation of 802 feet, planes can take off or land at Van Nuys 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.
- The furthest airport from Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,472 miles (18,463 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- The closest airport to Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Whiteman Airport (WHP), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of VNY.