Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Whiteriver, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Whiteriver Airport (WTR), Whiteriver, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,113 miles (or 8,228 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 Whiteriver 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 Whiteriver 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):

• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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 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 Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• 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.

Facts about Whiteriver Airport (WTR):

• In addition to being known as "Whiteriver Airport", another name for WTR is "E24".
• The furthest airport from Whiteriver Airport (WTR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,383 miles (18,320 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Whiteriver Airport (WTR) is Show Low Regional Airport (SOW), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) N of WTR.
• Because of Whiteriver Airport's high elevation of 5,153 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WTR. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WTR a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Whiteriver Airport (WTR) currently has only 1 runway.