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):

• 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.
• Leesburg Executive Airport was built in 1963 to replace an earlier grass field on the eastern edge of the town, which was owned & used by radio personality Arthur Godfrey for his private DC-3 aircraft.
• 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.
• The airport is owned by the Town of Leesburg, a corporate entity within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Leesburg Executive Airport", another name for JYO is "Godfrey Field".

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• 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.