Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Carlsbad, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD), Carlsbad, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,443 miles (or 8,760 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 McClellan–Palomar Airport, 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 McClellan–Palomar Airport. 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):

• 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.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• 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 work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
• 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.

Facts about McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD):

• In addition to being known as "McClellan–Palomar Airport", another name for CLD is "CRQ".
• Because of McClellan–Palomar Airport's relatively low elevation of 331 feet, planes can take off or land at McClellan–Palomar 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.
• The airport is named for Gerald McClellan, an aviator and civic leader in San Diego's North County area.
• The furthest airport from McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,512 miles (18,527 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) is Bob Maxwell Field (Oceanside Municipal Airport) (OCN), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of CLD.
• It opened a $24 million airline terminal on January 29, 2009.
• McClellan–Palomar Airport (CLD) currently has only 1 runway.