Nonstop flight route between Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lightning Ridge Airport (LHG), Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,258 miles (or 16,508 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 Lightning Ridge 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 Lightning Ridge 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 Lightning Ridge Airport (LHG):

• Because of Lightning Ridge Airport's relatively low elevation of 540 feet, planes can take off or land at Lightning Ridge 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.
• Lightning Ridge Airport (LHG) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Lightning Ridge Airport (LHG) is Collarenebri Airport (CRB), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) E of LHG.
• The furthest airport from Lightning Ridge Airport (LHG) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 11,784 miles (18,965 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.

Facts about RAF Fairford (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.
• 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.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• 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.