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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport (LBL), Liberal, Kansas, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,675 miles (or 7,523 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 Liberal Mid-America Regional 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 Liberal Mid-America Regional 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 Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport (LBL):

• Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport covers an area of 2,005 acres at an elevation of 2,885 feet above mean sea level.
• Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport is a city owned, public use airport located two nautical miles west of the central business district of Liberal, a city in Seward County, Kansas, United States.
• Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport (LBL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport (LBL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,914 miles (17,564 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport (LBL) is Guymon Municipal Airport (GUY), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) SW of LBL.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England.
• In 1941, hard runways were put down with the main runway, 04/22, being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries, 12/30 at 1,300 yards and 16/34 at 1,400 yards.
• In conjunction with this transfer, control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from Strategic Air Command back to USAFE.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.