Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Shirley, New York, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Brookhaven Calabro Airport (WSH), Shirley, New York, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,338 miles (or 5,372 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 Brookhaven Calabro 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 Brookhaven Calabro 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):

• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Brookhaven Calabro Airport (WSH):

• Because of Brookhaven Calabro Airport's relatively low elevation of 81 feet, planes can take off or land at Brookhaven Calabro 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 closest airport to Brookhaven Calabro Airport (WSH) is Calverton Executive Airpark (CTO), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) NNE of WSH.
• Brookhaven Calabro Airport (WSH) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Brookhaven Calabro Airport", another name for WSH is "HWV".
• The furthest airport from Brookhaven Calabro Airport (WSH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,791 miles (18,975 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.