Nonstop flight route between Hawthorne, California, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR), Hawthorne, California, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,431 miles (or 8,740 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 Hawthorne Municipal Airport 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 Hawthorne Municipal Airport 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 Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR):

• The name Jack Northrop Field comes from the Northrop Aircraft Corporation founded by Jack Northrop, which for years designed, built and flew many classic airplanes, including flying wings, the P-61 Black Widow and the F-89 Scorpion night fighters, the F-5 Freedom Fighter, and the T-38 Talon jet trainer.
• The furthest airport from Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In addition to being known as "Hawthorne Municipal Airport", another name for HHR is "Jack Northrop Field".
• Because of Hawthorne Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 66 feet, planes can take off or land at Hawthorne Municipal 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.
• Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR) is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) WNW of HHR.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• 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.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2s were airlifted to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A.