Nonstop flight route between Dayton, Ohio, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (FFO), Dayton, Ohio, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,906 miles (or 6,286 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 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and RAF Lakenheath. 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 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (FFO):

• The NORAD Manual Air Defense Control Center for 58th Air Division interceptors was at Wright-Patterson AFB by 1958, and Brookfield Air Force Station near the Pennsylvania state line became operational as an April 1952-January 1963 sub-base of WPAFB.
• The Army Air Forces Technical Base was formed during the WWII drawdown by merging Wright Field, Patterson Field, Dayton Army Air Field, and—acquired by Wright Fld for 1942 glider testing--Clinton Army Air Field on 15 December 1945 under Brig Gen Joseph T.
• In addition to being known as "Wright-Patterson Air Force Base", another name for FFO is "Wright-Patterson AFB".
• The closest airport to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (FFO) is James M. Cox Dayton International Airport (DAY), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) WNW of FFO.
• It is also the home base of the 445th Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command, an Air Mobility Command-gained unit which flies the C-17 Globemaster heavy airlifter.
• Aircraft operations on land now part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base began in 1904–1905 when Wilbur and Orville Wright used an 84-acre plot of Huffman Prairie for experimental test flights with the Wright Flyer III.
• The base's origins begin with the establishment of Wilbur Wright Field on 22 May and McCook Field in November 1917, both established by the Army Air Service as World War I installations.
• The furthest airport from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (FFO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,306 miles (18,195 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.
• By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.