Nonstop flight route between High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom and Lajes, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF High Wycombe (HYC), High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom and Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,546 miles (or 2,489 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 relatively short distance between RAF High Wycombe and Lajes Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF High Wycombe (HYC):

• The closest airport to RAF High Wycombe (HYC) is RAF Benson (BEX), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) WSW of HYC.
• The furthest airport from RAF High Wycombe (HYC) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,867 miles (19,098 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Operationally during the Cold War the Director UKWMO would have been located at the United Kingdom Regional Air Operations Command within Strike Command's Operations Centre nuclear bunker at RAF High Wycombe to instigate the national Four minute air raid warnings, with the Deputy Director located at a standby UK RAOC, described at the time as being "elsewhere in the UK", but has since been revealed as being at Goosnargh near Preston within the UKWMO Western Sector nuclear bunker.
• In 1958, Headquarters, 7th Air Division of the Strategic Air Command, supporting SAC operations in UK relocated to High Wycombe from RAF South Ruislip, and commanded all SAC operations until 1965.
• The actor David Jason officially opened the station's new welfare centre, named after Wing Commander Alan Oakeshott, in July 2011.
• During the Second World War High Wycombe was used by the United States Army Air Forces.
• The site is a non-flying station and was home to RAF Strike Command before it became part of the newly formed RAF Air Command on 1 April 2007.
• Buildings were designed to resemble other uses, such as the Officers' Mess which was built to look like a manor house.
• From 1983 to 1984 there was a peace camp protesting against the building of a bunker there at that time to house RAF Strike Command.

Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):

• Lajes Field also played a crucial role in Cold War politics.
• In the summer of 1984, Lajes undertook a new mission known as "SILK PURSE." Boeing EC-135s began operating out of Lajes Field as an airborne command post for the U.S.
• Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The civilian terminal also plays an important role in support of passenger and cargo airliners, executive, corporate and private jets flying to the island or beyond as the central location in the Azores group of islands makes it an ideal spot for refuelling or stopover.
• In addition to being known as "Lajes Air Base", other names for TER include "Base Aérea das Lajes", "Base Aérea Nº 4" and "Aeroporto das Lajes".
• Because of Lajes Air Base's relatively low elevation of 180 feet, planes can take off or land at Lajes Air Base 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.
• The furthest airport from Lajes Air Base (TER) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Lajes Air Base (meaning Lajes Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,229 miles (19,680 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• In 1961, the Portuguese Air Force EICAP was transferred to Lajes, operating Douglas C-47, Douglas C-54 and later CASA C-212 Aviocar.
• The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
• During World War II, the designation of the airfield was changed to Air Base No.4 and the Portuguese government expanded the runway, sending troops and equipment to Terceira, including Gloster Gladiator fighters.
• On January 31, 1951, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster operated by the Portuguese Air Force crashed into the sea while approaching Lajes Field, having taken off from Lisbon, Portugal, killing all 14 on board.
• The origin of the Lajes Field dates back to 1928, when Portuguese Army Lieutenant colonel Eduardo Gomes da Silva wrote a report on the possible construction of an airfield in the plainland of Lajes, for that branch's aviation service.