Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Norman Wells Airport (YVQ), Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,846 miles (or 6,190 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 Norman Wells 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 Norman Wells 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.

Facts about Norman Wells Airport (YVQ):

• The furthest airport from Norman Wells Airport (YVQ) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 9,990 miles (16,078 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Norman Wells Airport (YVQ) is Tulita Airport (ZFN), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SE of YVQ.
• Because of Norman Wells Airport's relatively low elevation of 238 feet, planes can take off or land at Norman Wells 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.
• Norman Wells Airport (YVQ) currently has only 1 runway.