Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Clayton, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO), Clayton, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,784 miles (or 7,699 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 RAF Lakenheath and Clayton Municipal Airpark, 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 RAF Lakenheath and Clayton Municipal Airpark. 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 RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy 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.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel.
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.

Facts about Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO):

• The furthest airport from Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,024 miles (17,741 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO) is Dalhart Municipal Airport (DHT), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) SE of CAO.
• Because of Clayton Municipal Airpark's high elevation of 4,970 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CAO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CAO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.