Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, South Africa and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GCJ to FFD:
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- About this route
- GCJ Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about GCJ
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to GCJ
- List of Nearest Airports to GCJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from GCJ
- List of Furthest Airports from GCJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Central Airport (GCJ), Johannesburg, South Africa and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,665 miles (or 9,118 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 Grand Central Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Grand Central Airport and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GCJ / FAGC |
Airport Name: | Grand Central Airport |
Location: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 25°59'11"S by 28°8'24"E |
Area Served: | Johannesburg |
Operator/Owner: | Private |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5327 feet (1,624 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GCJ |
More Information: | GCJ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Central Airport (GCJ):
- Because of Grand Central Airport's high elevation of 5,327 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GCJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GCJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) SSE of GCJ.
- Grand Central is a fully equipped airfield and is open 24 hours a day.
- The furthest airport from Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- Grand Central Airport (GCJ) currently has only 1 runway.
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.
- On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
- 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 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.
- 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.