Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Birch Creek, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Birch Creek Airport (KBC), Birch Creek, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,049 miles (or 6,516 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 Birch Creek 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 Birch Creek 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):

• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2s were airlifted to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• 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 first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.

Facts about Birch Creek Airport (KBC):

• Because of Birch Creek Airport's relatively low elevation of 450 feet, planes can take off or land at Birch Creek 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 furthest airport from Birch Creek Airport (KBC) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,178 miles (16,381 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Birch Creek Airport", another name for KBC is "Z91".
• The closest airport to Birch Creek Airport (KBC) is Fort Yukon Airport (FYU), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NE of KBC.
• Birch Creek Airport (KBC) currently has only 1 runway.