Nonstop flight route between Lesobeng, Lesotho and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lesobeng Airport (LES), Lesobeng, Lesotho and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,920 miles (or 9,528 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 Lesobeng 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 Lesobeng 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 Lesobeng Airport (LES):

• The closest airport to Lesobeng Airport (LES) is Semonkong Airport (SOK), which is located only 19 miles (30 kilometers) WSW of LES.
• Lesobeng Airport (LES) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Lesobeng Airport's high elevation of 7,130 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LES. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LES a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Lesobeng Airport (LES) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,760 miles (18,926 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force station near the town of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England located 4.7 miles north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk and 8.3 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk.
• Lakenheath Airfield was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941.
• 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.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.