Nonstop flight route between Leesburg, Virginia, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), Leesburg, Virginia, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,607 miles (or 5,804 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 Leesburg Executive 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 Leesburg Executive 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 Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO):

• Because of Leesburg Executive Airport's relatively low elevation of 389 feet, planes can take off or land at Leesburg Executive 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.
• The furthest airport from Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,650 miles (18,749 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Leesburg Executive Airport", another name for JYO is "Godfrey Field".
• The airport is currently a designated general aviation reliever airport for Dulles International, 10 miles to the southeast, and in 2008 hosted 231 aircraft based on the field and an average of 265 aircraft operations per day.
• The closest airport to Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO) is Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) SSE of JYO.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
• 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.