Nonstop flight route between Imperial, California, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Imperial County Airport (IPL), Imperial, California, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,359 miles (or 8,625 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 Imperial County Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Imperial County Airport and RAF Fairford. 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 Imperial County Airport (IPL):

• Imperial County Airport covers an area of 370 acres at an elevation of 54 feet below mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Imperial County Airport (IPL) is Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) W of IPL.
• The furthest airport from Imperial County Airport (IPL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,531 miles (18,557 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Imperial County Airport (IPL) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Imperial County Airport", another name for IPL is "Boley Field".
• Imperial County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Imperial County, California, United States.
• Because of Imperial County Airport's relatively low elevation of -54 feet, planes can take off or land at Imperial County 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.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
• The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.