Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Buttonville, Ontario, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Buttonville Airport (YKZ), Buttonville, Ontario, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,470 miles (or 5,584 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 Buttonville 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 Buttonville 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.

Facts about Buttonville Airport (YKZ):

• Because of Buttonville Airport's relatively low elevation of 650 feet, planes can take off or land at Buttonville 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 Buttonville Airport (YKZ) is Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of YKZ.
• The furthest airport from Buttonville Airport (YKZ) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,402 miles (18,350 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Buttonville Airport (YKZ) has 2 runways.
• The airport is accessible to public transit via York Region Transit Route 16 which runs along the northside of the airport.
• The new tower, representing an investment of over $2 million, replaced the existing facility which was built in 1967 and had reached the end of its useful life.
• The airport had one Aircraft rescue and firefighting unit, a Walter RIV 2000, parked against the fence along Renfrew Drive, but it was retired and no longer visible at the airport.
• The new tower was designed and built using a modular design enabling the facility to be relocated in the future.