Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Vilyuysk, Sakha Republic, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Vilyuisk Airport (VYI), Vilyuysk, Sakha Republic, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,901 miles (or 6,279 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 Vilyuisk 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 Vilyuisk 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 Vilyuisk Airport (VYI):

• Vilyuisk Airport (VYI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Vilyuisk Airport (VYI) is Verkhnevilyuysk Airport (VHV), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) WSW of VYI.
• The furthest airport from Vilyuisk Airport (VYI) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is nearly antipodal to Vilyuisk Airport (meaning Vilyuisk Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport), and is located 12,327 miles (19,838 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• In addition to being known as "Vilyuisk Airport", another name for VYI is "Аэропорт Вилюйск".
• Because of Vilyuisk Airport's relatively low elevation of 361 feet, planes can take off or land at Vilyuisk 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.