Nonstop flight route between Independence, Kansas, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Independence Municipal Airport (IDP), Independence, Kansas, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,481 miles (or 7,211 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 Independence 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 Independence 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 Independence Municipal Airport (IDP):

• The closest airport to Independence Municipal Airport (IDP) is Coffeyville Municipal Airport (CFV), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) ESE of IDP.
• The furthest airport from Independence Municipal Airport (IDP) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,698 miles (17,217 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Independence Municipal Airport", another name for IDP is "(former Independence AAF)".
• The airport covers 1,433 acres at an elevation of 825 feet.
• Because of Independence Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 825 feet, planes can take off or land at Independence 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.
• Independence Municipal Airport (IDP) has 2 runways.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel.
• The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.