Nonstop flight route between Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom and Shafter, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kinloss Barracks (FSS), Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom and Shafter Airport (MIT), Shafter, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,003 miles (or 8,052 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 Kinloss Barracks and Shafter 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 Kinloss Barracks and Shafter 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 Kinloss Barracks (FSS):

• In November 1980 two pilots, Royal Australian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Noel Anthony and RAF Flying Officer Stephen Belcher were killed when their aircraft struck birds on take off and crashed in woods to the east of Kinloss airfield.
• 19 OTU was split into 236 Operational Conversion Unit and the School of Maritime Reconnaissance in 1947 with 236 remaining at Kinloss.
• Kinloss Barracks (FSS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kinloss Barracks is a former Royal Air Force station, located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland.
• After the Argentines invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982, Nimrod MR2's adapted for air to air refuelling, were deployed to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic.
• The closest airport to Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is RAF Lossiemouth (LMO), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ENE of FSS.
• In November 2011 the Ministry of Defence and 12 Engineer Group announced that 930 Service personnel from 39 Engineer Regiment will move from Waterbeach Barracks, near Cambridge, to Kinloss in summer 2012.
• Numbers 120 and 201 squadrons, plus 42 squadron, formerly equipped with the Nimrod MR2, were disbanded on 26 May 2011 following the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 programme.
• The furthest airport from Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,616 miles (18,694 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Kinloss Barracks's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kinloss Barracks 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.

Facts about Shafter Airport (MIT):

• Shafter Airport (MIT) has 2 runways.
• In August, the first operational training units s began arriving at Minter, the airfields mission being advanced pilot training of USAAC bomber, attack, transport and pursuit pilots.
• Because of Shafter Airport's relatively low elevation of 424 feet, planes can take off or land at Shafter 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.
• In addition to being known as "Shafter Airport", another name for MIT is "Minter Field".
• The furthest airport from Shafter Airport (MIT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,404 miles (18,353 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Shafter Airport (MIT) is Meadows Field (BFL), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of MIT.
• With the end of the war in 1945, airfield was determined to be excess by the military and turned over to the local government for civil use in March 1948.