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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,463 miles (or 8,792 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 San Diego International 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 San Diego International 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):

• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• 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.
• On 10 October 1956, a United States Navy Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster transport on a Military Air Transport Service flight carrying 50 members of the 305th Bombardment Wing on their way home to the United States after a temporary duty assignment and a U.S.
• 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 reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.

Facts about San Diego International Airport (SAN):

• San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of San Diego International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at San Diego International 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.
• Landing at the airport from the east offers closeup views of skyscrapers, Petco Park, and the Coronado Bridge from the left side of the aircraft.
• The airport was the first federally certified airfield to serve all aircraft types, including seaplanes.
• The approach from the east is steeper than most due to terrain which drops from 266 ft to sea level in less than one nautical mile.
• The closest airport to San Diego International Airport (SAN) is NAS North Island (NZY), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of SAN.
• San Diego International Airport's expansion program, dubbed "The Green Build", is expected to help the airport meet current and future travel demands.
• The furthest airport from San Diego International Airport (SAN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,540 miles (18,571 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
• Convair had aircraft manufacturing plants near the field and used it for test and delivery flights from 1935 to 1995.
• In January 2008, San Diego International Airport entered the blogosphere with the launch of the first employee blog – the Ambassablog – for a major U.S.