Nonstop flight route between Kirksville, Missouri, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK), Kirksville, Missouri, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,150 miles (or 6,679 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 Kirksville Regional 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 Kirksville Regional 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 Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK):

• The closest airport to Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK) is Trenton Municipal Airport (TRX), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) W of IRK.
• A post-war boom in commercial aviation finally reached Kirksville in 1961 when Ozark Airlines began regular air service.
• Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK) has 2 runways.
• Kirksville Regional Airport covers an area of 476 acres at an elevation of 966 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,860 miles (17,478 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Kirksville Regional Airport is a city owned, public use airport located six nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Kirksville, a city in Benton Township, Adair County, Missouri, United States.
• Because of Kirksville Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 966 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirksville Regional 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):

• 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.
• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.