Nonstop flight route between Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,911 miles (or 6,294 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 Gary/Chicago International Airport and RAF Benson, 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 Gary/Chicago International Airport and RAF Benson. 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 Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY):

• On December 12, 2011 Allegiant Air announced they would begin service to Orlando Sanford International Airport two days a week beginning February 15, 2012.
• Because of Gary/Chicago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 591 feet, planes can take off or land at Gary/Chicago International 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.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 4,353 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,633 in 2009 and 2,143 in 2010.
• A long-standing proposal to turn the Gary/Chicago International Airport into Chicago's third major airport received a boost in early 2006 with the approval of $48 million in federal funding over the next ten years.
• The closest airport to Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) NW of GYY.
• Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) has 2 runways.
• The airport is also home to an Army Aviation Support Facility supporting UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter operations of the Illinois Army National Guard as well as an additional collocated Army National Guard Armory supporting additional Illinois ARNG units and personnel.
• The furthest airport from Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,868 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):

• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
• The future of RAF Benson was in doubt for some time, while Project Belvedere was looking into closing at least one of Joint Helicopter Command's airfields.
• Its Supermarine Spitfire and de Havilland Mosquito aircraft flew missions over occupied Europe, for example bringing back battle damage assessment pictures after Operation Chastise.
• The Battles were replaced in December 1940 with Vickers Wellington medium bombers.
• The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.