Nonstop flight route between Gladwin, Michigan, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GDW to FFD:
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- About this route
- GDW Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about GDW
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to GDW
- List of Nearest Airports to GDW
- Map of Furthest Airports from GDW
- List of Furthest Airports from GDW
- 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW), Gladwin, Michigan, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,663 miles (or 5,895 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial 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: | GDW / KGDW |
Airport Name: | Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport |
Location: | Gladwin, Michigan, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°58'14"N by 84°28'29"W |
Area Served: | Gladwin, Michigan |
Operator/Owner: | City/County of Gladwin |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 774 feet (236 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GDW |
More Information: | GDW 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW):
- Because of Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 774 feet, planes can take off or land at Gladwin Zettel Memorial 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.
- Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) has 2 runways.
- The airport is staffed from 9AM until 5PM.
- For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2009, the airport had 4,454 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 12 per day.
- The closest airport to Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) is Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport (MOP), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of GDW.
- The furthest airport from Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,182 miles (17,995 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- 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 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.
- Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
- 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.