Nonstop flight route between Hollis, Alaska, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base (HYL), Hollis, Alaska, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,518 miles (or 7,271 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 Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base 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 Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base 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 Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base (HYL):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 1,661 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,820 enplanements in 2009, and 1,965 in 2010.
• Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base (HYL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base (HYL) is Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NNE of HYL.
• Because of Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane 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 Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base (HYL) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,631 miles (17,108 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• 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.
• Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England.
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.