Nonstop flight route between Helena, Montana, United States and Braintree, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Helena Regional Airport (HLN), Helena, Montana, United States and MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,544 miles (or 7,312 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 Helena Regional Airport and MDPGA Wethersfield, 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 Helena Regional Airport and MDPGA Wethersfield. 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 Helena Regional Airport (HLN):

• The furthest airport from Helena Regional Airport (HLN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,563 miles (17,000 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Helena Regional Airport covers 1,224 acres at an elevation of 3,877 feet.
• In addition to being known as "Helena Regional Airport", another name for HLN is "Helena Army Airfield".
• The closest airport to Helena Regional Airport (HLN) is Bert Mooney Airport (BTM), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) SSW of HLN.
• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 85,649 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 88,314 in 2009 and 98,193 in 2010.
• Helena Regional Airport (HLN) has 3 runways.

Facts about MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):

• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
• The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
• The 20th Fighter Bomber Wing established an operational detachment at Wheelus AB, Libya, in February 1958.
• In 1951, as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, the British provided RAF Wethersfield to the USAF as part of their NATO commitment.
• Formerly known as RAF Wethersfield, it opened in 1944.
• The furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Starting in July 1966, bases in Turkey, Spain, and Italy were transferred from Tactical Air Command to USAFE.
• Wethersfield was allocated by the RAF to the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force in August 1942.
• In April 1991, the Chief Constable of the Ministry of Defence Police assumed responsibility for the site.
• The fighter squadrons of the 20th had been in constant rotation since the arrival of the wing at Wethersfield in 1952.
• Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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 1978 the British and American Governments agreed to establish a Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers unit in the UK.